For My Houshisama
by Gamja the Wolf's Fang
Summary: Miroku's been sucked into his void and the Inuyasha gang searches for the rest of the shikon shards to bring him back- but is the void the end of all things? What's on the other side? MirokuSango pairing
1. Welcome to the Void

Disclaimers: I do NOT own Inuyasha or any of its characters. I only own this particular plot.  
  
Yep, it's here folks! The continuation of "Six Feet from the Edge"!!!! *crickets chirp*  
  
Anyways...  
  
Quick summary: It turns out that Miroku's void is not the end of it all- He's still alive and kicking! You'll find out in this chapter, so read on you lazy bums :P (j/k, j/k)  
  
""= Speech  
  
''= Thoughts  
  
[]= Speech during flashbacks  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
For my Houshi-sama  
  
The sun looked down like a watchman on the weary travelers as they crossed through the barren valley. "Ugh, water..." Shippo craoked, his tail drooping like a wet rag out of fatigue. Inuyasha, fed up with all the whining the "weak humans" kept trowing at him growled out, "Keep whining, brat, and I'll-"  
  
"Inuyasha! Be nice!" interrupted Kagome. The hanyou snorted, "Or else what wench?"  
  
Tactless as always, Inuyasha had chosen one of the worst times to tick off Kagome- she was tired, frustrated, and bored out of her mind. So...  
  
"SIT!!!" Crash.  
  
"Oof! Wench! I'll-"  
  
"Sit! Sit! Sit! Sit! Sit! Sit! Sit! Sit! Sit! Sit! Sit!" By now, Inuyasha was stuck in a six foot hole, legs twitching like dying animal.  
  
"And one more time, SIT BOY!" Although Shippo was laughing his head off at the new found entertainment, Sango the taijya looked nostalgically at the trio. '*Sigh* I wish houshi-sama was here. I almost missed being groped- wait, what am I saying?!'  
  
Meanwhile...  
  
Inuyasha had finally gotten himself out the 10-feet deep hole that he was face down in. "Good gods witch! What in the seven hells is ticking you off like that today?!"  
  
"SIT!" Crash. "You're the one who's been leading us around all day following your so called, 'sense of smell'!!"  
  
"Wench! Are you insulting my-"  
  
"SIT!"  
  
Sango's mind drifted off to the events that occurred three nights ago, sorrow tugging at her heart. [Houhsi- no, Miroku...don't go, onegai...]  
  
[I can't koishi, I want to but I can't.]  
  
Koishi...it was the first time he had ever called her that. A tear trickling down her right eye, she whispered the name that meant so much to her: "Miroku..."  
  
Inuyasha's loud voice snapped her out of her revere "Hey, Sango, you commin' or what?" She must have been dreaming for quite a while, as Inuyasha and Kagome had stopped fighting a lttle while ago.  
  
"G-gomen!"  
  
Quickly wiping the tear from her eye, she hurried down the path to her friends.  
  
-Inside Miroku's Air Rip-  
  
He'd been falling through an eternal darkenss for what seemed like two days: he'd given up screaming after falling for three hours with no signs of contact with anything but the nothingness of his own void.  
  
Then suddenly, he saw red. Lots of it.  
  
Realizing that he was going to smack into something quite soon, he took up screaming again and flailed his arms.  
  
50 meters from impact...  
  
30...  
  
10...  
  
Splash!  
  
Wait, splash? He'd landed in a large lake of something red. Reflexively swallowing the liquid that he landed in, he had a large mouthful of something that was warm and metallic.  
  
Blood. Fresh blood at that.  
  
"BLURBLBLBL!!!!!" he, err, gargled. Flailing his limbs in terror, he finally made it to shore where he coughed up large amounts of lake blood. Panting slightly, he began to make note of his surroundings.  
  
The first thing he noted was, it was red. VERY red. The sky was blood red, the earth had a redish hue to its soil, and magma flowed freely as if they were rivers. He also noted that the land was completely barren of any signs of life.  
  
"Well," he noted. "This is a rather curious place."  
  
-A few hours later-  
  
Miroku was completely exhausted. He'd been traveling for about four hours with no food, water (unless you count blood as "water"), or rest, the only thing to entertain him the jangling of his staff.  
  
The fact that he sensed many youkai nearby didn't exactly help matter either.  
  
Deciding that resting and keeping his strength up in the deserted world was a wise choice, he decided to quickly climb up a small mountain and perhaps even camp up there. Besides, the high altitude would give him a nice view of the surrounding countryside, right?  
  
Unfortunately, he didn't realize that the cave in the mountain happened to contain an extremely aggressive bear-demon...  
  
"A monk, eh? Heh heh heh, my comrades will reward me well..."  
  
'Comrades?' thought Miroku. Before he could think anymore, however, the demon charged and slamed its paw where the monk was only moments before. Miroku uncovered his cursed hand...then realized it was not there.  
  
"Heh heh heh, foolish monk. Trying to suck me into another plane of existence again?" He charged Miroku again, this time with a sideways swipe that Miroku easily dodged.  
  
"Another plane of existence? What ever do you mean, demon?"  
  
"Nothing that a dead man needs to know about." Knowing that he could keep this up for only for so long, he trusted his gut instincts and stuck his right palm out...  
  
And made a shiny new hole in the bear demon's head with a jet of wind.  
  
Staring at his hand in shock and horror, he wondered aloud, "W-what sort of world IS this?!"  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Yep, that's the first chapter! I know it's kinda short but oh well...  
  
Rather twisty, ne? I bet none of you ever expected the void to be a wormhole into another plane of existence. :P The later chapters are going to contain a lot of fantasy magic and stuff, so hang tight!  
  
Read and Review!!! 


	2. Kaze, Utsu, Yari, San

Disclaimers: I do NOT own Inuyasha or any of its characters.  
  
And...here it is! Chapter 2! But first, some response to my reviewers:  
  
Aamalie: Yep, good ol', filthy blood. So the last person who wrote an alternate plane ficcie got whomped? O_O'' *feels jinxed* Anyways, you'll find out why Miroku (or everyone in the plane for that matter) can survive without the basic necessities except for oxygen.  
  
Dante Gemini: I'll get right to it! :D  
  
Me: Dang it, there went my "original" idea of the void being a portal..._ As for the rest of your questions, Sango's currently the only one who seems to be mourning because:  
  
On Earth, she's the main character (so it's mainly about her feelings and all that)  
  
She was the closest to Miroku out of the gang. The rest of them and an easier time to move on, but Sango's still hurting quite a bit.  
  
And your other question: Well, it would have been dumb if Miroku went splat right on the first chapter, ne? :P But you're right, I should have done something about that. :D  
  
Fred the Mutant Pickle: Thanks for the review! By the way, I think that "koishi" is supposed to mean "my beloved" in Japanese...I might be wrong however. _  
  
Kaylana: Lol! Cadium oxide? Hmm, I always preferred cyanide or hydrochloric acid... O_o (j/k, j/k)  
  
""= Speech  
  
''= Thoughts  
  
BIG FAT WARNING TO ALL READERS: The next chapters will contain much fantasy, as in non-Inuyasha magic and stuff. If you don't think Inuyasha and elemental magic should mix, PLEASE do not read/flame. Enjoy!  
  
One last thing, the last chapter said, "Miroku uncovered his cursed hand...then realized it was not there..." What I meant was, the VOID was not there, not the hand. It's the void! The void I say!!  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
-Inside the Void, about 4 days have passed-  
  
The crimson sky burned like the furnace of hell, fireballs roaring across the horizon like angry dragons. The red sand of the great plain, uncomfortably hot, breathed its heat into the air above it.  
  
And what Miroku wouldn't give for a nice, cool bath.  
  
Sweat running down him in waves, Miroku trudged down the never ending dunes to reach the next resting point. Fortunately, despite the fact that he hadn't eaten or drunk anything in about 8 days, he felt no hunger or thirst. 'Looks like being sucked into your own Air Rip has its own perks,' he mused with a smirk.  
  
But one thing was bugging him quite a bit lately: how did he manage to slay the bear demon in such a fashion? He didn't recall ever learning how to manipulate the air, much less completely impale a 30 foot demon on a spear of wind. A very curious world this was...  
  
-Back on Earth, in the middle of a small battle-  
  
"Hiraikotsu!" The enormous bone made of boomerang sliced off the hand of the opposing homonculous of a demon that stood before the Inu-gumi.  
  
(A/N For those who don't know, "gumi" in Japanese means "group", so Inu- gumi refers to the Inuyasha gang.)  
  
"Human filth! My tusk will avenge my hand!"  
  
"Try it ugly!" shouted the taijya. Swiftly dodging the oncoming canine, she pulled out her katana shoved it down the demon's throat. The blood scattered all over her uniformed body, giving it an interesting black-red hue. Roaring in pain, it thrashed its remaining limbs like a desperate animal and tried to run off.  
  
"Not so fast!" Sango yelled. She whipped her boomerang out again, neatly eviscerating the fleeing demon through the middle. Satisfied with her work, she looked to where her friends were finishing off the rest of the youkai.  
  
Inuyasha had been slicing demons left and right, somewhat bored by the pitiful lack of skill in these demons. 'Feh, I almost wished I was fighting Kagura again. At least I actually have to WORK to dodge her wind blades.'  
  
Meanwhile, Kagome and Shippo had been working as a team: Shippo would transform into an intimidating form, herd the demons into a pack, and then watch them get shot to pieces by Kagome's arrow. It was quite satisfying for the young fox.  
  
Kagome finished the last demon off by feeding it an excessive amount of holy power, the gore that flew about instantly dissolving into purified dust. Wiping the sweat from her brow, she turned smiling to her bored (Inuyasha), proud (Shippo), and preoccupied (Sango) friends.  
  
"Great work guys!"  
  
"Feh."  
  
"Yatta! We're awesome Kagome! *hug*"  
  
"..."  
  
"Umm, Sango-chan?" said Kagome. "Sango-chan?" She waved a face in front of her friend.  
  
"What? Oh, sorry Kagome!" Quickly regaining her compsure, she tried to look like someone who just finished relieving stress off of a pack of demons.  
  
An understanding look in her eyes, Kagome whispered, "It's Miroku-kun, isn't it?"  
  
"H-hai..."  
  
Once Inuyasha and Shippo were out of ear shot (they had gone to take a bath to get rid of several gallon's worth of demon blood) Sango said to Kagome, "Uum, Kagome-chan, can I tell you something?"  
  
"Hai! Go right ahead."  
  
"T-this sounds weird but...oh never mind."  
  
"Are you sure you don't want to tell me Sango-chan?"  
  
"Hai, it's alright..."  
  
As they walked off after their male companions, Sango thought, '*Sigh* I just can't tell anyone that I think houshi-sama's still alive somehow...'  
  
'Miroku, if you're up there...are you smiling down at me from heaven?'  
  
-Inside the Void (A/N: AKA Neverland!... umm, forget I said that..._ )-  
  
Panting from exhaustion, Miroku ran for his life across the rocky hillside as the mantis demon (A/N: sound familiar?) flew after him, the beating of its horrid wings thrumming in his head.  
  
'Curse it,' he thought. 'The one moment I need my ofuda and the ywon't work.' Grumbling, he kept on sprinting. Unfortunately, his foot got caught on a rock...  
  
He sailed forward thanks to his momentum and landed face first into the (now brown) soil, the dirt in his mouth tasting extremely bitter. Rolling over onto his back, his eyes widened in fear and tried to hold out his staff before finding out that it was stuck ten feet away from him.  
  
"Stupid monk, I will feed you your own entrails and then consume your liver for sending me to this place!" it screamed.  
  
Both of them froze as a voice began to chant steadily, "Kaze. Utsu. Yari. San! Wind Spear!"  
  
Four wind spears, almost exactly like the one that Miroku had fired several days before, sped to the demon like a missle. It tried to dodge, but ended up with a huge gash in its side. Screaming in fury, it tried one last attempt to kill Miroku.  
  
'Maybe I'll do the same thing that voice did,' He thought frantically.  
  
"Kaze! Utsu! Yari! San!! WIND SPEAR!!!" This time, four large jets of wind flew from Miroku's outstretched palm and tore the great mantis apart, the pieces thudding juicily into the ground.  
  
"That was quite impressive," said Miroku's rescuer. Miroku spun around, wanting to thank the man, but did a double take when he saw the man's face...  
  
"O-o-otousan?!"  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
And that's that!  
  
Yes, Miroku's father's still alive. Next chapter tells you that Miroku's gramps is still kicking as well. :D  
  
Read and Reivew! 


	3. Meet the Parents

Disclaimers: I do NOT own Inuyasha or any of its characters.  
  
Sorry about the long update periods, but I can only work on my fic during the weekends, and I'll be lucky to pull off even that next weekend...lots of school stuff. -_-  
  
And now for my reviewers...*hands them all a 12-foot pie*  
  
Me: Alright, I'll answer it this time you fiend :P  
  
Well, I consider Sango as a strong girl: I can't really imagine her moping about all day and slowing everyone down so drastically. My fic, my rules ( :D , just kidding )  
  
Kaylana: O_O'' Methinks you know a little too much about poisons...*creeps away* Just kidding! :D And I never said Sango KNEW Miroku was alive, she just sensed that he might be kicking still.  
  
The-Great-Monk-Girl: *Stares at screen furiously typing* UPDATED!!! :D  
  
Tache: Thanks! :D  
  
Izu: Oh, you'll find out... 8 )  
  
Frank the Mutant Pickle: *Munches on cookies: thanks for these by the way* Meh, I was just a bit cautious on mixing Inuyasha with fantastical magic and etc. At some other websites I think people don't like it if good ol Inuyasha got mixed up with anything else. -_-  
  
""= Speech  
  
''= Thoughts  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"O-otousan?!"  
  
His father smiled as he looked upon his younger reflection, his eyes shining bright from joy and unshead tears.  
  
"It's good to see you again, son." Laughing joyously, both men gripped each other in a tight embrace. But then Miroku noticed something odd...  
  
"Father? Umm... why don't you look any older? It's been about fifteen years since we last met and...well, you don't look a day older than twenty five."  
  
The grin on his face fading slightly, he said, "It's a long story son. I'll tell you when we get to our hideout. It's not safe out here, as you obviously have seen." Nodding, Miroku followed his father into the earthen, jagged horizon. But as they left...  
  
"Wait, our? What do you mean, 'our'?"  
  
"As I said, I'll tell you when we get there. But come quickly, we might have more demons on our trail." And so they ran off into the fading sun, the cry of some sort of youkai howling through the great stone pillars...  
  
-A bit later, inside the hideout-  
  
(A/N: alright folks, this is when all the weird stuff are explained, so sit tight.)  
  
The cave was a rather large one, roomy and Spartan as there was almost no furniture except for two large piles of fur, of which Miroku assumed were beds. A large number of scrolls were stacked neatly in one pile near a far corner, and to the left of it sat a middle aged man poring over a few parchments. Sensing the presence of the two men, he turned around, his face looking oddly familiar...  
  
In a solemn but slightly playful voice he announced, "So, Miroshin, looks like the third generation of our family's stuck in here, eh?" Turning to his grandson, Mirosuke gave a smile and clapped a hand upon Miroku's shoulder. "It's good to finally see you again, grandson."  
  
"And the same to you, grandfather."  
  
Politely interrupting their little reunion, Miroshin said, "Miroku, I promised you to answer your questions from earlier. Sit, if you may.  
  
"Now I would think the first thing on your mind is, 'How did I come up with such an attack with a few words?'" Rather surprised, Miroku nodded dumbly and allowed his father to continue on.  
  
"This is because this world is not Japan. It is not the land we were born, raised, or fought in. We don't really know how this place got here or why, we just know what it is used for.  
  
"The reason you and I don't require food or water to survive is because of the elements: as far as we know those who are human, or have human blood inside them, are spiritually connected to one of the seven elements: Light, Dark, Nature, Earth, Fire, Wind and Water. Our entire family seems to be connected to the element of Wind. So as long as the light shines, the shadows lurk, life thrives, the earth rumbles, the flames burn, the winds roar and the waters churn, we are sustained both physically and mentally. We only need a day or two of rest to fully recover our strength. This, however, is not saying that we are immortal. We've seen normal humans who we sucked in here slaughtered by merciless bands of youkai despite their newfound powers.  
  
"As for your powers... we're not one hundred percent sure yet, but each element can be controlled by chanting a certain encantation, as I demonstrated to you earlier today. Or, if you're willpower overtakes the element inside you, you may be able to cast spells without encantations. This doesn't happen often, however. Oh, and one last thing: we can teach you a few spells ourselves, but the rest of them you must find for yourself."  
  
Taking a few minutes to absorb all this new information, Miroku found himself quite stunned.  
  
"So what you're saying is...our voids are portals that lead into this world?" both of the older men nodded. "Then, why are you two so young looking? Surely not some sort of spell?"  
  
Mirosuke replied, "And it wasn't. It seems like in this world, nobody ages. So we're essentially invulnerable against naturally caused deaths like disease, old age, and the like."  
  
Intrigued, Miroku was silent for a few minutes again. Then he asked, "So what is the use of this world?"  
  
"Well, it seems that a long while ago a demonologist decided to capture a few specimens of demons and experiment on them. Of course, capturing them was difficult, so he tried to develop a technique to create them out of basic materials, a combination of the seven elements: light and dark for the mind, nature for the breath of life, fire for the blood, earth for the flesh, water for the soul and wind for their breath.  
  
"However, when his creations turned out to be rather weak, he realized that he needed a world that amplified the powers of each element. So, he managed to catch a powerful sorcerer off guard and forced her into creating this world. After setting up a base of operations, he began manufacturing his own living, breathing, thinking demons. But it seemed that his own creations turned on him: if I recall correctly a hoard of his own demons merged with him after subduing him into one powerful half-demon. It seems that because the demons are created from a balance of all the elements, they are both physically and mentally boosted: that might be able to explain why you seemed to have some trouble with that mantis demon from earlier. As for the hanyou, whom we have come to call 'Akuma', controls the element of Nature, so he can still create his own swarm of demons at will. He's our greatest threat here, and only our wits and our Wind powers have kept your grandfather and I alive."  
  
Nodding in understanding, Miroku said, "So perhaps that's why Naraku created a portal to that world: after we are sucked in we are thrust by ourselves into a hostile world full od demons. How characteristic of him..."  
  
Standing up, Miroshin said, "Well, son, if you're going to survive, you better have at first a better understanding of all the elements." He tossed his son a piece of parchment that contained in faded writing about a book's worth of knowledge:  
  
"Written here is knowledge of the elements of this world:  
  
Fire: The wielders of the flame can manipulate any size of fire and amplify it or decrease its size and intensity, regardless of how large or small the initial flame size is. A fire elementalist can also control Lightning and can immolate himself or others at will.  
  
Wind: The sorcerers of the gale can create winds so strong as to lift boulders and toss them like pebbles or create tornadoes that can impale a full-grown demon easily. They can levitate themselves or others, and the powers of Poison are under their command.  
  
Water: The dancers of the river can instantly turn any body of water into scalding steam or freezing ice. They can simply create water out of thin air and control it with the grace of the rivers themselves. Water elementalists can also manipulate Ice as if it were a mere plaything. Also, they can liquefy themselves or others in times of need.  
  
Earth: The guardians of the mountains control the very thing that we stand on. Earthquakes and rockslides are child's play to them, and they can even pull the stars out of the sky and obliterate their enemies in such a fashion. At will they can instantly shatter any solid object that comes within contact with their flesh. The sub element of Lava is under their command.  
  
Nature: The druids of the forests are the masters of creating life in any climate or area, regardless of weather of temperature. Forests instantly spring up from bare rocks, and animals and the plants willingly sacrifice themselves to protect the Nature elementalist. At will, they can change the body of a living creature from flesh to wood.  
  
Light: The heralds of the light rule everything that gives off light from the Sun and the Moon to the sputtering torch. They can sear through the thickest armor and hardest rock with beams of bright light and create illusions that can fool the weak of mind.  
  
Dark: The shinobi of the dark are the puppeteers of the shadows. Their negative energy can sap the strength and will power of any sentient being and fill them with darkness. They are the masters of deception and at will they can instantly remove one's soul from their body: however, if the willpower of the victim is strong enough, they can overthrow the attempts of the elementalist.  
  
And so here is written the Seven Elements of the world."  
  
Setting the scroll down on the desk, Miroku noticed that his sires were all asleep on their futons. As he lay himself down to rest from his exertions, he wondered, 'My dear Sango... are you thinking of me as you toil your way to Naraku?'  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~ *~*~ *~*~ *~*~ *~*~ *~*~ *~*~ *~*~ *~*~*~*~ *~*~*  
  
Hmm, this chapter was a bit longer than the rest...  
  
I hope I didn't bore you guys out with my little lecture on the elements here. ^_^''  
  
Read and Review!!!! 


	4. This I promise you

Diclaimers: I do NOT own Inuyasha or any of its characters.  
  
Sorry about the long update time, I had all sorts of stuff to do (school, extracurricular stuff :/ )  
  
Anyways, some love for my reviewers...  
  
By the way, why is there a drought of reviews! Is my story that bad?!?! (  
  
Fred the Mutant Pickle: Water, eh? *Imagines Fred running around freezing everyone in sight* O_o lol, just kidding. :D Glad you liked it! And no, I can't tell you how they get out right now, but if you keep reading...  
  
Kaylana: Thanks for the swifties tip! And remind me to run in fear next time you find your element is wind and start hunting me down. O_O Another thing, you can only master one: in this fic, it's impossible for a human soul to posses that many qualities, and your element depends on what sort of soul you have...  
  
The-Great-Monk-Girl: Yep, Miroku's got his hands full!  
  
Well, that's it for the reviews, on with the story!  
  
""= Speech  
  
''= thoughts  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
The moon shined its silver glow on the demon slayer's face as she looked up at the night sky, the stars winking at her like diamonds. After another hard day of demon slaying, listening to Inuyasha berate Kagome and then get sat, and just feeling lonely, Sango was rather exhausted.  
  
The cool night wind blew her hair around, caressing it in a familiar fashion. Closing her eyes in pleasure, she let herself fall back into memories of older times...  
  
-Flashback to two months ago-  
  
The autumn air felt cool on their cheeks as Miroku and Sango strolled through the forests. They had been sent by Kagome to collect edible roots and berries, and since that was usually a boring job, they tried to make the best of it...or at least they tried. Unfortunately, Miroku's wandering hand's curiosity became much more inquisitive when put under hours of ennui.  
  
The hours were getting dark, so the plant-laden duo decided to return home.  
  
"...So, houshi-sama, how many berries did we pick?"  
  
"..."  
  
"Umm, houshi-sama? Did you hear what I said?"  
  
Coming to an abrupt halt, the monk set his basket on the ground. Now completely confused, Sango asked, "What's wrong?"  
  
"Sango," he began, "have you ever felt so much love for someone that you'd do anything for them, even if they didn't like it?"  
  
A blush creeping into her cheeks she replied, "Well, not really...alright, perhaps my brother Kohaku, but never anyone else."  
  
Hurt flickered into Miroku's eyes momentarily, but it was not unnoticed by Sango.  
  
"It pains me to say this, my Dear Sango, but it's necessary..."  
  
"I love you Sango, but I cannot. It is better for us if I don't."  
  
At first she thought her heart had crumbled into a hundred pieces, each piece breaking off causing excruciating pain. After a few moments, however, all she felt was rage. Her voice shaking slightly, she said, "Then if you don't love me, houshi-SAMA, then I don't care anymore." She dropped her basket on the forest floor. "I thought I had someone to spend the rest of my life with, you jerk!" She stormed off, but not before hissing, "Go off and marry some other wench, you perverted, heartless b******. And when you're done with that, you can get sucked into your stupid hole for all I care."  
  
"Sango, yamero!"  
  
After a couple of hours of running, Sango finally stopped at the foot of a large, dying tree and began to weep for all she was worth, ignoring the fact that she was lost in a lost forest without her boomerang or Kirara .  
  
'Stupid, perverted ahou, letting me get so close to him. I never should have fallen for him, I knew this was bound to happen...' She kept ranting to herself, completely unaware of the youkai that was creeping up to her...  
  
For the hundredth time since she ran off, Miroku said to himself, "Damn it, where did she go?" Due to the abundance of life in the forest, it was extremely difficult to pinpoint Sango's aura. Heaving from the long run, he looked around a little more.  
  
To his horror, his Dear Sango was pinned under a large ape youkai that was clawing at her. She struggled for her katana, but the ape soon knocked it out of her reach.  
  
He screamed at the top of his lungs, "SANGO!!!!" Using his staff, he somehow knocked the 10-foot chunk of muscle and evil off of her.  
  
While the ape was recovering from the extra fierce blow, Miroku checked Sango over. 'Doesn't look like anything's broken, just some bumps and scratches.' Breathing a sigh of relief, he said, "Sango, daijoubu ka? Are you seriously hurt anywhere?"  
  
Right when she opened her mouth to reply, the ape barreled into Miroku, smashing him into a 100-year old tree. Satisfied that he was out of the way for now, the demon proceeded to attempt to molest Sango. This time however, she was ready.  
  
The sword flashed silver the moonlight as the dark blood spewed out of what was left of the demon's arm, a cacophony of howls ringing throughout the forest. She ran to finish the hulk off, but it swiftly knocked the sword out of her hand and into the bush again. Stumbling backwards, Sango watched in horror as the huge brute pulled back its arm for a punch...  
  
Suddenly, she heard he name being shouted out from the right. Before she could do anything, she was tackled out of harms way. Moments later, she felt a large object crash into whatever tackled her. After having to eat a mouthful of dirt upon landing, she grasped around for another weapon. 'Houshi-sama's staff,' she thought. It would do nicely.  
  
Charging at the ape that was turning towards her (it had to recover from its massive punch), she screamed out, "Eat this you squint-eyed brute!!" She shoved the staff several feet into the demon's chest and began twisting, the bladed end of the staff tearing into flesh, organs and muscles. Ignoring the agonized cries of the oversized monkey and the hot gore that splattered her face, she kept on twisting and tearing.  
  
Eventually, it felt like a log to the earth, where blood continued to spurt up like a small fountain. Sighing in exhaustion, she dropped the staff and stumbled to where Miroku lay...  
  
Bloody, beaten, and badly bruised.  
  
"Oh kami, Miroku! Daijoubu ka?" Shaking him slightly, Sango became frantic when he did not respond. "Miroku! Wake up! Onegai, wake up!!" Tears began trickling down her face like little streams in a red desert...  
  
"Y-you called me b-by my name, dear S-s-sango..."  
  
Eyes wide in shock, she began to blush so furiously that it was evident in the dark of the night. Sniffling, she told him, "Y-you baka, why did you do that, getting hurt for my sake?" She lightly slapped his shoulder, earning her a low moan from the injured monk.  
  
"Ugh..." Here he gave a moist cough, blood flecking Sango's kimono sleeve. "Sango...about that time when I told you I couldn't love you... it wasn't because I hated you or I fell in love w-with someone else." Swallowing rising fluids, he went on, "It's because when I was born, the curse that I was born with killed my mother from the inside. And because I love you, I-I couldn't forgive myself if you d-died because of me."  
  
Sango was truly weeping by now, her face streaked with tears. Clutching at her monk, she managed to whisper out, "Don't worry, Miroku, we'll find that bas**** Naraku and we'll get rid of your curse. I promise you this."  
  
-End Flashback-  
  
After that little episode, Inuyasha and Kagome had managed to find the injured duo quickly enough to save Miroku's life, and life had gone on normally (or as normal as it ever would have gotten).  
  
But she failed to keep that one promise.  
  
'Oh Miroku...  
  
Gomen nasai...'  
  
-Inside the void-  
  
Sweating profusely under the watchful sun (A/N the sun/moon cycle is different here), Miroku concentrated every fiber in his body.  
  
"Kaze. Ken. Toushin Enban! Wind disc!!"  
  
The air in front of him formed into a 6-foot wide spinning disc. Concentrating once more, he sent it out toward several stone pillars that stood several feet apart. 'Come on, just concentrate...' He whipped his staff around in a figure eight pattern, the razor sharp disc mimicking his every move. He release control, then walked off, ignoring the halves of pillars that began to slide down a few seconds later.  
  
'My Dear Sango... I'm going to come back. Wait for me there.  
  
This I promise you.'  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Yep, that's that! This was more of a filler chapter than anything... but I hope you enjoyed it! I suck at writing fluff anyways. :/  
  
Read and Review! Please!!! 


	5. Welcome to the Void Redux

Disclaimers: I do NOT own Inuyasha or any of its characters.  
  
Yep, it's chapter 5 of my little ficcie! :D Now for some replies to my reviewers...  
  
Fred the Mutant Pickle: Thanks! :D and I'm not sure about Miroku's mother, I'm only saying that Miroku's void killed her because a lot of other people are saying so. :/  
  
Kaylana: Rofl, gotta love idea thievery. XD And what's bishie torture? I'd like to know in case I ever need it.  
  
K-Chan9: XD I R T3H SUP3R UB3R N1NJ4!!! F34R M3!!!  
  
...  
  
Don't ask...  
  
Good luck with your future fics!  
  
Tache: Thanks! Now keep reading slave! cracks whip...just kidding, rofl.  
  
Dante Gemini: Good lordy, 3 straight through reviews! Thanks! I reviewed one of your fics btw.   
  
Once again, thanks to all my wonderful fans! hands them all 12-foot pies  
  
P.S.: about the uber ninja thing, K-Chan9 calls me this in the real world since she's one of my best friends. Call her hyper, but I've always enjoyed hyperactivity. reaches for large packet of sugar  
  
Remember: ""= speech  
  
''= Thoughts

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It was high noon in the Water realm of the Void, although one would need superhuman senses of sight and feeling or have an acute sense of time to tell where the sun was, thanks to the thick fog that surrounded the area.  
  
Miroku absolutely hated bogs. He'd been in bogs before, but none quite as fetid, humid, smelly, and...boggy...as this one. He could neither see nor feel the warming sun or see clearly past ten feet from him without the use of the Truesight spell. Deciding it was a good time to reactivate it, he drew himself away from the ever-pulling mud and muttered out a few words:  
  
"Kaze. Shin. Genzou. Meikai. Truesight!"  
  
Feeling a little more relieved at the clear-as-day view right in front of him, he slogged through the mud with his Father and Grandfather, doing his best to ignore the stagnant water that splashed up at his face every time he took a step bigger than a shuffle.  
  
"Remind me, otous-san: what in Kami's name are we doing here?"  
  
"We're trying to intercept a small group of manufactured youkai that are marching southwards."  
  
"And what's the point of that if this Akuma character can simply pop some more out of the air?"  
  
This time Mirosuke chimed in, "Well, we've been doing this for the past twenty years and it seems to be keeping the demon forces at bay. Plus, we've been getting bored lately."  
  
At this, Miroku could only sweat drop.  
  
"Shh, here they are... wait, what the?!"  
  
Unfortunately, there were not just a few demons marching, crawling and flying through the swamp:  
  
It was literally a small army, three score strong at the least- numbers they were hardly ready for.  
  
"A small group you say, father?"  
  
"Be quiet, and listen: both of you cast Wind Walk and get out of here. I'll cause a quick distraction and follow you."  
  
"No! I'll do the distracting, you do the running."  
  
"Will you both shut up! They'll hear us if you-"  
  
"Keep shouting like that?"  
  
Not bothering to look at who finished the sentence for him, Miroku went about to go on when he realized that the voice was a tad too low and gravelly to be human...  
  
"Heh heh heh, look at what we have here... Oi! Lads! We got humans, three of 'em!"  
  
Before it could say anymore, the oversized Rat demon fell backwards like a cut tree with a shiny new hole between its eyes.  
  
"AMBUSH!!!" screamed one of the insect demons, flapping its wings wildy.  
  
Sighing, the trio of monks pulled out their weapons and began chanting their spells.  
  
This was going to be a long day...  
  
-In the real world-  
  
The seemingly deserted castle loomed overhead like an ancient guardian, the dying grass leaves in the courtyard seemingly bowing to the great structure. The walls were cracked and had foul moss and mold creeping all over it, giving the castle a dead look.  
  
But the Inu-gumi knew better. They had cornered Naraku at last: after several years of hard work, the half-demon Naraku was to be destroyed.  
  
"Come on," Inuyasha muttered, his enormous sword Tetsusaiga drawn out and girded for battle. "We wouldn't want to keep that b##### waiting now, would we?"  
  
Nodding, they all went inside.  
  
'Just wait a little longer, houshi-sama,' thought Sango. 'This is the day I avenge you.'  
  
-Inside the Castle-  
  
The innards of the castle looked even more abandoned than the outside did: the wooden beams were rotting, the floor was extremely creaky and there were skeletons of former servants decorating the walls here and there.  
  
"Eww... the least Naraku could have done was keep these dead people outside the building. Hasn't he ever heard of sani-"  
  
"Oi wench! Shut up will ya! I can't hear Naraku over your squawking."  
  
"What?! Why you-"  
  
"Kagome-chan," interrupted Sango, thereby preventing another argument in which Inuyasha gets sat. "I think Inuyasha's right. We need to watch out for Naraku in case he attacks...right...now?" Looking over Kagome's shoulder, she saw a baboon pelt slide though the rotting doorway.  
  
"Naraku!"  
  
"Heh heh heh heh, so...the little fools have followed me all the way here."  
  
Before he could continue, Inuyasha interrupted the demon with a swing of his sword and a, "Shut up and die you b######!"  
  
Easily dodging the swing, Naraku taunted, "Is that all you can muster, little mutt? Or has your little wench made you soft?"  
  
Gritting her teeth in anger, Kagome went for her bow and drew an arrow across the string.  
  
"I've told Inuyasha and I'll tell you:  
  
I AM NOT A WENCH!!!!!"  
  
She fired her purifying arrow at the baboon shaped cloud of poison, the beam of holy light shattering Naraku's barrier. Widening his eyes in surprise, he quickly attempted to spear Inuyasha and Kagome simultaneously but failed spectacularly when Sango used her enormous boomerang to slice off both of Naraku's offending tentacles.  
  
"Oh, what's wrong, Naraku? Loosing your touch because a little 'wench' like me hit you with a little bitty arrow?"  
  
Joining in the taunting, Inuyasha threw at Naraku, "Come on, Naraku, is a mere HUMAN taking you down? I thought you were tougher than this baboon face!"  
  
Shippo chimed in, "Baboon face! BABOOOOON FAAAACE!!!"  
  
Glaring dangerously, Naraku decided to spread a cloud of acidic miasma against the quintet of heroes, the noxious fog melting the castle as it traveled.  
  
"Hah, I was waiting for that!" yelled Inuyasha. Gathering up the youki energy from the cloud into his sword, he concentrated momentarily then released the energy into one blast:  
  
"BAKURYUUHA!!!!!"  
  
The energy ripped through Naraku like a hot knife through butter, although the demon managed to avoid the brunt of the attack...just barely. Limping around with half his body gone, Naraku the literal half-demon (as most of his body had been wiped away) sputtered through the air and swiftly created an escape route...  
  
An escape route that was black...  
  
Was shaped like a hole...  
  
And sucked air through it.

Sango thought, 'why does this look so familiar?'  
  
Before she could get any farther, Naraku had leaped through the hole.  
  
"Come on!" Inuyasha shouted. "After him!"  
  
Having no time to think, everyone held hands and jumped through the hole...  
  
And fell though eternity.  
  
-The void-  
  
Everyone was screaming something in various pitches as they fell through the inky dark well.  
  
(A/N now guess who's saying each quote!)  
  
"$#$ && &#$ !!!!!!!"  
  
"AIEEEEEE!!!! I WISH I WAS HOME!!!!!"  
  
"KIRARA!! WHERE THE HECK ARE YOU!!!!!"  
  
"MOMMMMMMYYYYYYYY!!!!"  
  
Suddenly, a huge foggy patch appeared under them.  
  
"Hey, it's a cloud that we can bounce on!"  
  
"Idiot! You can't bounce off a cloud! You'll fall right through it!"  
  
"What did you say wench!?"  
  
"Guys, hold on!"  
  
Kirara managed to get a hold of herself and transformed, grabbing onto Sango who in turn grabbed Kagome. Shippo turned into a huge pink balloon and caught Inuyasha before he fell several hundred feet into the fog.  
  
Falling softly, they landed like feathers in the murky wood...  
  
Right into a middle of a battle.  
  
Sighing, Inuyasha drew Tetsusaiga and yelled out, "Kaze no Kizu!"  
  
Where he was met by the curious glances by the fighting demons.  
  
'What the,' he thought. 'Why didn't the Scar of the Wind work?' Before he could continue his train of thought, a demon with hundreds of blades covering its arms and legs leaped at him, intending to rip him apart.  
  
"Oh ho, a little faster now are we? I like this!" Grabbing the demon by the arm (and carefully avoiding the blades), Inuyasha twisted it until the arm came off the demon and then skewered it on its own arm through the chest. It gurgled a little, then tettered over to the muddy ground. Turing around quickly, he spotted Kagome, Sango, Kirara and Shippo...  
  
About to be mobbed by a pack of demons.  
  
"Kagome!!!" He screamed. He couldn't bear losing her, not in this weird foreign land...  
  
"Kaze no Kizu!!!" Screamed out another voice. An oddly familiar one at that...  
  
Inuyasha watched in silent horror as the enormous blades of wind ripped through the crowd of demons and into the little group that was his only friends in the world... the attack that saved their lives countless times was about to shred them to meat...  
  
"KAGOME!!!!!" The mud settled down quickly revealing dozens of shredded demons, a few trenches...  
  
and his friends, not a hair on their heads touched.  
  
"Wow, Inuyasha, did you do that?"  
  
Dazed, he said absentmindedly, "No..."  
  
Sango asked, "Then wh-"  
  
She was cut off when a figure stepped out of the mist and spoke in a mischievous, oddly familiar voice:  
  
"My, my Inuyasha. Looks like you're not the only one with Tetsusaiga's powers now, are you?"  
  
"M-Miroku?"

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Bla ha ha! Fear the ebil plot twists!!!  
  
Read and Review!!! 


	6. A Happy Reunion and a Few Discoveries

Dslaimers: I do NOT own Inuyasha or any of its characters.  
  
Sorry about the long update wait, but I was really busy this week (recital, tests, etc.)  
  
Divine-Red-Crayon: :D muchas gracias! (that's spanish for j00 :P)  
  
Sankujou: Well, here's an update for you! (and I thought Miroku's staff was spelled shakujou...Oo)  
  
Fred the Mutant Pickle: Rofl, you need to lay off the sugar man. :D And enjoy the upcoming combat scenes featuring Naraku with: Elemental powers!!!!  
  
Kaylana: Nooooo!! Not my creativity! I need it for the next chapters!!! Anyways, glad you liked it!  
  
K-chan9: Well, you better get ready now! No Fluffy, his crew, or Kouga tho. I prefer to keep this simple.  
  
Me: Yep, this time the falling characters didn't go sailing into a lake of blood at terminal velocity. :D And I will use l33t speak whenever and however I want! You cannot stop me!! grins ebilly  
  
Tache: Enjoy!  
  
HMPrune: Thanks! Now that summer's coming up I might be able to update more...  
  
The-Great-Monk-Girl: Updating!!!  
  
Remember: ""= Speech ''= Thoughts ## = replacement for asterisks

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"M-Miroku?"  
  
The reddened swamp continued bubble and boil as the young monk stood grinning before the shocked (and mud covered) group.  
  
The first to react was Shippo, who sprang into the slightly surprised but pleased monk's arms. "Miroku!" His voice was somewhat muffled due to the fact that his face was buried in Miroku's chest. "I missed you so much!" With eyes brimming with tears, Shippo looked up briefly, then continued to squeeze Miroku.  
  
Next was Kagome.  
  
"Miroku! Oh Kami, you're alright!" Almost tackling the slightly dazed monk (Shippo's bear hug was beginning to asphyxiate him), she gave him a girlish grin of delight and began giggling and squeezing at the same time.  
  
Then came Inuyasha.  
  
Swiftly yanking the over-excited Kagome off of the perverted monk before he could take advantage of the situation, he gave Miroku a glare, a smack upside the head, and then quickly switched into a toothy grin.  
  
He clapped a hand on his friend's shoulder while saying, "Heh, nice to see you up and about bouzo."  
  
"The same to you, my friend."  
  
And finally, Sango.  
  
Sango stared with wide, shocked eyes at the man who she thought was dead. It couldn't be him, could it? But if it were an illusion, why weren't Kagome and the others affected?  
  
The monk calmly smiled at his beloved and muttered, "Sango-" Unfortunately, his words were instantly cut off by a sobbing girl who smashed into him and began squeezing the life out of him.  
  
"Miroku! Oh gods, y-you're alive! I knew it! I just knew it!" Then came the rain of blows. "You baka! How could you leave me alone like that! #Smack# Baka houshi!" Words began to fail her as her joy over took her thoughts. Smiling again, he stroked her hair and whispered, "What? You think an inter-dimensional portal and dozens of youkai out for my head would kill me?" Her face soaked with tears, she looked up from Miroku's chest and moaned, "Oh Miroku...when you didn't come back to our camp that night, I thought I lost you forever..."  
  
She buried her face into his chest again. "This time, I'm not loosing you again." The happy couple slowly sank to the ground and simply held each other, sobbing with joy.  
  
"Heh, looks like my son finally got his own woman to grope anytime!" Caught Completely off guard, Sango and Miroku both reddened and bolted up from the ground. Sango thought, 'This is Miroku's father?' Snorting, she continued to herself, 'He looks every bit the lech Miroku is, down to that glint in his eye-'  
  
#Grope.#

Unfortunately, wandering hands was a family trait in Miroku's bloodline...  
  
"HENTAI!!" but when she pulled her hiraikotsu up to deliver a skull- crushing smackdown, Miroku had already pulled up his father by the collar and held him up into the air, his eyes stormy.  
  
"You touch my Sango like that again, father, and I'll be forced to hurt you badly." He jerked his face up close to his father's. "Got it?" He casually tossed his comically trembling dad to Sango. "Do what you wish with him."  
  
Miroshin looked up at Sango from the muddy ground, terror etched across his face.  
  
"Sweet girl, you wouldn't hurt me that badly...would you?"  
  
Grinning an evil grin that matched the Chesire Cat's, Sango picked up her boomerang once again. "Don't worry, it won't hurt...too much."  
  
The remaining bystanders sweatdropped and sighed at the carnage that soon commenced.  
  
"No! No!! Please, mercy!" #Twhack# #Crunch# "OW! Not the face! Oh please, not the fa-" #Smash#

'Pff, weakling'

-Later, at the hideout-  
  
"So let me get this straight: I couldn't use Tetsusaiga's powers because they're not my own?"  
  
The half-demon's face contorted into that of confusion at the 40 minute lecture on elemental powers and how they work.  
  
"That would be correct. Tetsusaiga merely converts your own elemental energy into that of Wind energy. The same goes for Miroku's ofuda and Kagome-sama's purifying arrows, except that their weapons convert their elemental powers into that of light."  
  
After scratching his head in silence, Inuyasha "Keh,"d and replied, "Pff, this elemental stuff is crap. I mean, come on! An entire new plane of existence plopped down in who knows where? Elemental powers?! Youkai everywhere?! I don't know whether you guys have finally cracked or something, but I'm not staying in here and let Naraku run off." He stormed out grumbling words too tasteless to mention.  
  
Too bad he didn't notice the trail of flame his feet produced.  
  
Kagome opened her eyes wide in shock and shakily pointed her finger at Inuyasha's feet.  
  
"Umm, Inuyasha?"  
  
"What wench?"  
  
"Y-y-your f-f-fee-"  
  
"Come on, hurry up. I haven't got all day."  
  
"F-f-feet-"  
  
"My feet?! You interrupt me to comment about my feet? And what are all you idiots staring at- OH WHAT IN ALL THE SEVEN HELLS?!?!?!" He quickly scrambled back inside the hideout and clung like a frightened puppy, staring at the ground wit ha horrified look on his face.  
  
"D-did I do that? What the hell's going on?"  
  
Laughing heartily, Mirosuke slapped his thigh and and let out, "Looks like our little puppy friend is a fire elementalist!"  
  
With wonder on her face, Kagome decided to see what she could do to get the now spreading fire out...  
  
Which resulted in her summoning a huge globe of water out of nowhere and drenching the floor, the walls, and a certain hanyou. Sputtering, Inuyasha yelled at Kagome, "What was that for?! And how the hell did you do that?!" In annoyance, he threw a tiny flicker of flame at the young priestess, causing her to yelp in fright and summon a thin wall of water to consume the offending fire.  
  
"Very impressive Kagome-sama!" Cried Miroshin. "You summoned a Wall of Water without the use of incantations!" Blushing in modesty, Kagome simply giggled.  
  
A thought came to the silent taijya's head. 'Hmm, if Houshi-sama's Wind, Kagome's Water, and Inuyasha's Fire, then am I...'  
  
With curiosity written all over her face, Sango flickered her hand at Miroku, who stared back perplexed.  
  
His look of confusion was soon replaced with a blank one when a pillar or rock rose out of the ground just behind and brained him in the cerebellum. He swayed slightly, then fell face forward like a cut tree onto the ground.  
  
"Houshi-sama!" cried Sango. Turing him over quickly, she was a bit relieved (but mostly exasperated) when Miroku had swirly eyes and had an extremely goofy expression on his face. 'Maybe I should "experiment" like this more often,' she sighed to herself.  
  
Miroshin stood up with an impressed look on his face. "Well, now that everyone knows their corresponding element, the time has come for you to develop your skills. Each of you should go by yourselves into through the land to train, but be wary of patrolling demons: they are much stronger, faster and tougher than the youkai you are used to. If you ever get cornered, read off of this scroll." He tossed the five of them a scroll each. "This is a scroll of Teleport. Read off of it if you ever need to escape. Now I would have recommended you to stick together and train nearby, but I'm afraid that you may hurt yourselves. Now go!"  
  
Everyone packed up their belongings and headed out the door, but not before Shippo complained, "Aww, it's not fair! I don't get an elemental power just because I'm a full-youkai!"  
  
"Yeah, you'll always stay a little runt."  
  
"Shaddap!" The little fox jumped up into the air and whapped Inuyasha downwards, sending the now highly surprised hanyou into the earth.  
  
Everyone stared.  
  
"Shippo, how..?"  
  
"Oh hey, I forgot! Youkai like me are much stronger now!" He stuck a tongue out at the fallen dog-demon, who growled dangerously from the floor, flames emanating from his eyes.  
  
Fortunately Kagome quickly dumped another globe of water on Inuyasha, soaking him once more.  
  
"Wench, STOP THAT!!"  
  
Everyone laughed and fled from Inuyasha, who had the wet-puppy look with his hair matted down and drooping face.  
  
"Sigh Youngsters..."

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And now the fun starts...  
  
Read and review!!! 


	7. Burning Flame: Inuyasha's Training

Disclaimers: I do NOT own Inuyasha or any of its characters.  
  
Hiya folks! Welcom back for another episode of For my Houshi-sama! :D  
  
And now for the reviewers...  
  
The Chibi Eskimo (who is too lazy to log in): w00t! Thanks! :D #eats pocky# Although I'd never imagined that you would be jealous of my crappy writing O.o And it's about time you and alawen reviewed :P  
  
Alawen of Mirkwood: Yay! My fic's not OOC! :D Thanks for the review btw (about time too :P)  
  
Fred the Mutant Pickle: Woo hoo! So you finally move on to college eh? Good luck! :D And about Sango switching from Houshi-sama to Miroku, in this fic she uses Miroku when the situation's extreme (like she's overjoyed or desperate because Miroku's going to die, etc.) and Houshi-sama when the situation's normal.  
  
Kaylana: Olives and soap? O.o #wonders if Kaylana has messed around with cadium oxide again#  
  
Tache: #Grins sheepishly# Oops, I guess I should have clarified that a tad more...Sango's an earth elementalist. That's why she whacked Miroku in the back of the head with a stone pillar on accident.  
  
Me: Nah, thanks for the offer but I like to keep my l33tspeak at plain old...l33t? O.o  
  
Anyways, after thinking a bit on how to connect my top reviewers to an element, here we go:  
  
Fred the Mutant Pickle: You are the element of Water, because you are curious and like water, you want to gather knowledge by spreading out over as much as you can. :D  
  
Me: You are of the Earth, because as far as I've seen, you're more serious than pretty much everyone here. Earth elementalists tend to be serious and a bit quiet, but they have a rock solid bed of good sense.  
  
Kaylana: You are of the Wind (yep, complete with poison!) because you are very optimistic and joyful. Wind elementalists tend to be uplifting and optimistic. In a group, they are the ones who keep up the morale.  
  
That's all for now, the rest of the reviewers either not review enough for me to figure out their personality (lazy people :P) or their reviews are too short for me to work with.  
  
Anyways... ""= speech ''= thoughts ## = asterisks  
  
"Alright, let's try this again." Inuyasha tried his best to concentrate on the task ahead, which was not easy considering his impatient nature.  
  
"Ho. Rai. Ken. Shoudenki. Thunder Blade!"  
  
He swiftly ran his hand down the blade of the transformed Tetsusaiga, allowing it to become powered with lightning. Satisfied with his work, he began chanting under his breath and poised Tetsusaiga to strike.  
  
"Ho. Rai. Ken. Shurai. Touch of Lightning!"  
  
The finger of electricity flew out from the blade like a greedy hand and struck a rock, sending large chunks of shrapnel all over the area. 'Ah crap!' thought Inuyasha. Quite fortunately, his demonic reflexes (which were boosted somewhat by his presence in the Void) allowed him to pull off an amazing flip-dodge. 'Damn, that was close. Maybe I shouldn't hit rocks like that again...'  
  
He'd been training himself for about four hours straight, concentrating on controlling his wild power of the flame. After melting down an acre's worth of stone, singing off a bit of his hair, and nearly blinding his eyes after deciding it might be amusing to stare at ball lightning, he was frustrated, tired, and angry. Fortunately, this small success had kept him from ripping his silvery hair out by the roots.  
  
He plopped down on the ground and decided to take a breather, but before long his mind drifted off into space...and Kagome.  
  
He thought about how the young girl must miss her family by now. She had been with them for several days before they had been sucked into the Void, and now with chances of going back home looking bleak, he was actually starting to feel sorry for her...wait a sec...  
  
'What the hell am I thinking?!' he thought. He was being weak again. Ever since his mother died and he was forced to wander, he had learned a great rule: if you are weak, you die. If you are strong, you live. Being weak is bad. Being strong is good. And of course, the youkais that he bumped into often were very good at following the rules.  
  
A slight tumbling of the gravel brought him back to reality. He sniffed the air, attempting to find out who the offender was. '#Sniff#, hmm, smells like blade demon...'  
  
A 10-foot blade covered monstrosity similar to the one that he killed during his first few moments in the Void roared from behind a rock and charged blindly, its huge arms and legs swinging in an attempt to mince the hanyou.  
  
"Heh, normally, I would just slice you right now, but I need practice," he sneered. He narrowly dodged another blow, then prepared himself for an elemental strike. "Heh, you're good," he smirked. "Ho. Ibuki. Shonetsu. Infernal Breath!" He took a deep breath, then blew it back out, the very air dancing to sparks, which in turn became white-hot fire.  
  
The demon screamed in agony and thrashed around a bit before it collapsed to the ground, the fire rapidly consuming the toasted blade demon.  
  
Sadly, blade demons (as with almost all demons in the Void) tended to travel in packs, as Inuyasha had just found out.  
  
'Damn, more of them? They just had to strike when I'm exhausted.' He sighed and shook his head, readying his sword once again. 'Let's see,' he thought. 'what to use next...'  
  
"Ho. Ken. Kizu. Kiri. Cutting Flame!"  
  
An attack similar to the Cutting Wind he was familiar with erupted from the Tetsusaiga like a geyser, swiftly forming into large, scythe like blades similar that to his favorite attack, except that these were now blades hot as Hell itself.  
  
"Eat this you b######!!!" he yelled. The blades flew through the air and neatly cut through four out of the five demons that were rushing toward him. They froze in shock and horror in mid run, then slowly keeled over, completely halved through the chest.  
  
However, Inuyasha was concentrating on the final demon who was obviously the leader of the little pack. Screaming at him with a noise that sounded like a cacophony of horribly singing old men, it rushed headlong in fury.  
  
'Kinda predictable, eh? Whatever.' "Ho. Rai. Shinsoku. Lightning Speed!" He suddenly moved into a blur, dancing in circles around the now confused blade demon.  
  
'Wait for it...now!'  
  
Inuyasha suddenly charged, his blade flashing quicker than any eye could see. Satisfied with the day's training, he payed no heed to the two halves of blade demon that slowly began to come apart behind him.  
  
And that's how Inuyasha's training goes.  
  
Next up, Kagome with her faithful sidekick Shippo!  
  
Read and review!!! 


	8. Flowing Water: Kagome's Training

Disclaimers: I do NOT own Inuyasha or any of its characters.  
  
Whew! Sorry about the loooong update wait, but I had exams and stuff to take care of. :/  
  
Anyways...  
  
K-chan: Oh yeah! Summer is here baby!!!!  
  
Alawen of Mirkwood: Well, now that this chapter's up, I get to torment you more. 8)  
  
Fred the Mutant Pickle: Yep, you're water. :D Unfortunately, I'm trying to keep this fic almost all Miroku and Sango since I'm not too confident about juggling two relationships at once, but I'll try to make it good.  
  
Me: Oh boy, Me likes earth....  
  
For the sake of your own health, I highly recommend fleeing. j/k rofl!  
  
""= Speech  
  
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"Ready, Shippo-chan?"  
  
'Augh, not this again...' "Ready!"  
  
Under her breath, Kagome concentrated on the shaft of wood she sighted down on. "Mizu. Aisu. Senshu. Boruto. Chilling Bolt!" The frozen arrow sped like a diamond shard towards the small boulder Shippo was carrying above his head. Upon striking the rock, it froze and shattered in an instant.  
  
"Eeek!" Shippo squeaked while quickly ducking. 'I'll never get used to this...'  
  
"Alright! Right on the mark!"  
  
For hours, Kagome and her oh-so-trusty sidekick Shippo had been training intensely under the dim sun. The cool mountain air was quite refreshing, although Kagome was starting to get a little chilly.  
  
Kagome found that she enjoyed her new powers. They could sooth, heal, and she could instantly create a hot spring or a nice cool lake in an instant. Great way to relax anytime, she thought.  
  
Another great thing about water was...  
  
"Oi Shippo-chan? Wanna take a ramen break?"  
  
'Oh thank Kami,' "Ok!" Kagome rummaged through her pack until she found the plastic pack of noodles, opened them up, and snapped her fingers.  
  
Voila! Boiling hot water instantly appeared out of nowhere and filled up both packets, filling up the air with the scent of cooking ramen.  
  
While she waited for the ramen noodles to soak up the water, Kagome began to mull over a few things...  
  
'#sigh# I miss my family already... it's my mom's birthday in a few days and I don't know if I can get out of here!' she thought.  
  
'But at least I got my friends here. I wouldn't know what to do if I didn't have them! But the act that Naraku is still around worries me...'  
  
She looked at Shippo who was slurping his ramen happily.  
  
'Look at him, not a worry in the world... sometimes I wonder...how and why did a child so young and innocent get drawn into this conflict? He's seen so much death, destruction and torment that I'm surprised he hasn't cracked yet.' She smiled slightly. 'He's much stronger than we all give him credit for.'  
  
She then looked a few miles southward beyond the setting sun where she knew Sango would be training.  
  
'I wonder how Sango-chan's holding up: Miroshin-san told me that Earth's not an easy element to conquer...then again, so is Water, Fire and Wind...she'll be doing just fine.  
  
'Poor Sango...always so torn about Kohaku-kun and that lecher... I can't help but feel really sorry for her since she's usually the target for his..."attacks". Speaking of that no good lecher...'  
  
-Miroku's training spot-  
  
"Kaze. Doku. Suiaaaaachooo!!" He wiped his nose and sniffed. 'Did someone just insult me?'  
  
-Back to Kagome- 'I've always wondered how he could keep up such an optimistic guise while he was burdened with the Void back in the past, with all the stress of knowing that you have only a few years to live. It kind of reminds me of people with terminal cancer back at home...'  
  
"Oi, Kagome!" Shippo's cry alerted her back to reality. "I think your ramen's kinda soggy by now."  
  
"Oh, thanks Shippo-chan," she muttered distractedly. The mulling had distrupted her appetite. She went back to thinking:  
  
'And now for Inuyasha...#sigh# I just wish that he wouldn't keep running off with Kikyo. Doesn't he know that it hurts me? A lot?' She quietly sighed to herself again.  
  
'But sometimes it's worth it. He's there when I'm in danger, and he can be really sweet sometimes!' She looked up at the now starry night sky, the gently falling snow sugaring the twinkling horizon.  
  
She stood up and began packing the ramen packages. "Alright Shippo-chan! Let's train a little more and then go home." Stifling a groan, the kitsune stood up and picked up another boulder.  
  
"Actually," interrupted Kagome, I was thinking of something else. Shippo, could you throw that at me?" Looking uncertain for a moment, Shippo suddenly complied, feeling vengeful for all the torment he had suffered during Kagome's training (aka Let's torture Shippo).  
  
"Here we go!" He shouted. The rock flew like an arrow towards Kagome, who began chanting, "Mizu. Aisu. Hei. Ice Wall!" A wall of ice suddenly formed out of the ground and defended its creator from the offending boulder, which merely bounced off like a ball.  
  
"Yatta Kagome! Your Ice Wall's so powerful!" Giggling, Kagome gave Shipo a quick hug and began packing her equipment.  
  
Then came the bombardment.  
  
It was a hail of spikes, each 2 feet long, an inch thick and sharp enough to penetrate even the most high quality steel like paper. Most fortunately, Kagome managed to create another Ice Wall on instinct to saver herself and her "sidekick".  
  
'Where did these guys come from?' Kagome thought worriedly. She tried counting them, but the ice distorted her view. 'Kuso, there's at least five... what'll I do?'  
  
Quickly formulating a plan, she pulled out her bow and began enchanting her arrows. 'I hope this works,' thought Kagome.  
  
For an instant, she created a small hole in the wall and shot an arrow through it. The arrow sped forward...  
  
And nailed a spike demon square between the eyes.  
  
It shriekd in agony, but its voice was abruptly cut off when the ice spread past his neck and down to the rest of the body. In a matter of seconds, the one-ton hulk of flesh and spikes was added to the décor of the training site.  
  
"Ergh?" Was all another demon grunted out before it too became a statue. Realizing that Kagome held the advantage in ranged combat, the hit squad moved in closer.  
  
Ooops...  
  
"Mizu. Shitai. Eki. Taisan. Liquefy!" Instantly, a demon turned into water and collapsed into a puddle. It never had time to scream.  
  
In a guttural voice the lead demon cried, "Attack the wench! Rush her-"  
  
#Clonk# "Hey ugly! You leave Kagome alone!" shouted an angry looking Shippo.  
  
"Little brat! SHUURAI!!!!"  
  
Another volley sent Shippo scurrying back under cover. "Kagome! We can't keep this up for long you know!"  
  
Suddenly Kagome had a plan. "Mizu. Kiri. Genzou. Fumei. Mist Claok!" A thick fog settled itself on the battleground as the spike demons began to cease fire, confused on where there target was. The demons started to mill around aimlessly, blindly looking for Kagome.  
  
Maybe they should have just kept firing...  
  
When the mist finally died away, the leader of the pack found himself surrounded by frozen pieces of what used to be his comrades and a determined miko (plus a small bundle of cowering fur).  
  
"Nani? Grr... wench, you may have slain my brothers, but I will not go down so easily. Come miko! We will see whose power is greater!" Then without warning, it launched a volley of iron-hard spikes at Kagome.  
  
'Oh no! I can't dodge that!' "EEK!"  
  
"KAGOME!!!!!"  
  
No one moved except for the demon.  
  
"Hah! Not so tough are you now huh, wen- nani?!"  
  
Uncovering her head from her arms, she came out of her slightly crouching position completely unharmed.  
  
"W-what did you just do witch?!"  
  
"Ever noticed that a lake is unharmed when you try to pierce it with a spear? Same thing applies here, scum." She whipped out her bow and notched an arrow to it.  
  
The last thing the demon ever thought was, 'N-n-nani?! She liquefied herself that quickly? Imposs-!'  
  
The frozen pieces of the youkai leader littered the ground, clinking like glass as they struck the cold, hard rock of the mountain.  
  
"Oi, Shippo-chan, ready to go?...Umm, Shippo-chan?" She waved a hand in front of his eyes. "Shiiipo-chan..."  
  
Of course, she was rather surprised when the teary-eyed fox demon leaped onto her and buried his face into her clothes.  
  
"#Sniff# Kagome! Are you alright! I thought you got killed I wouldn't know what to do if you got hurt Inuyasha would kill me oh Kami-"  
  
"Calm down Shippo, I'm alright. But that was sweet of you to worry about me!"  
  
The young kitsune managed to give her a weak smile through his tears. "R- really?"  
  
Kagome nodded. "Really. Now let's get back."  
  
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Ugh, that was hard to right...  
  
Read and review!!!!!! 


	9. Roaring Wind: Miroku's Training

Disclaimers: I do NOT own Inuyasha or any of its characters.  
  
Aaaaaand we're back with another updated! :D  
  
Important announcement! This story has finally broken 10,000 words! W00t!! pulls out bottle of Coke and blows top off, showering reviewers with sticky-sweet goodness  
  
Now on with the reviews...  
  
Alawen of Mirkwood: Well, my summers ok so far: but dang, I'm totally exhausted. This what happens when you volunteer to help out at an Elementary School Summer Camp. :/ How's your summer? :D  
  
K-chan9: That would be Capri Sun remembers old commercials of kids skateboarding around, then suddenly liquefy when they drink Capri sun. How are your fics going by the way?  
  
Fred the Mutant Pickle: Have fun training, just don't get elemental-power happy like Me is... XD  
  
Me: You know, I think I seriously regret sticking you into Earth, or any element for that matter, rofl. watches Me obliterate Gamja's fic 8( heh, j/k.  
  
Tache and The-Great-Monk-Girl: Thanks! Updating soon!  
  
One last important announcement: I will be gone during June the 20-July the 9th for a camp. I probably will have computer access, but it is yet to be seen whether or not I'll have time to work on my fic.  
  
Anyways....enjoy!  
  
"" = Speech ''= Thoughts ##= Replacements for Asterisks  
  
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The arid landscape twinkled in fatal mischief as the high noon sun roared down on the meditating monk. The great Big-Hot-Eye-In-The-Sky showed no mercy, so Miroku showed no mercy to the surrounding terrain.  
  
"Kaze. Kuda. Hitofuki. Naoki. Gust Tunnel!" A tunnel five feet wide and with vicious, rotating blades at the "head" screamed out of Miroku's hand and pummeled the sand dune in front of him. Grains of sand picked up from the force of the blow and created a small sand storm, creating a miniature dune off to the side.  
  
'Alright, levitation time.' "Kaze. Hishou. Kuuchuufuyou. Levitation!"  
  
### (A/N: See below) After a second or two of concentrating, Miroku kneeled slightly, then blasted off like a rocket in to the sky, turning into a near-invisible pin prick against the blue of the horizon. He swerved back at a breakneck velocity, then floated to a stop six feet of the ground.  
  
"Kaze. Bofuu. Kigen.Reizu. Uplifting Gale!" A huge gust of wind erupted out of nowhere and began picking up the occasional stone dotting the desert. Concentrating, Miroku blew them around in a seemingly random fashion and began concentrating for his next step.  
  
'Let's see if my ability to hit moving targets has improved.' "Kaze. Utsu. Yari. San. Wind Spear!" The wind spears came out of his hand like they did that fateful day and headed toward the rocks.  
  
'Come on, concentrate... a little more to the left...' Unfortunately, his efforts were wasted as his Wind Spears missed their target by several feet. 'Kuso... waste of time.'  
  
Letting out a sigh of frustration and exhaustion, he decided to meditate to burn off some stress. 'Musn't be angry, be calm...calm..'  
  
It took him a while, but he finally decided that his anger had burned off enough to continue training. By now the sun was beginning to set and the chill of the desert had started to creep into his skin.  
  
'Well, time to practice poison and then go back to headquarters.' "Kaze. Doku. Suiaaaachoo!!" 'Did someone just insult me?' He thought. 'Probably my dear Sango.'  
  
Lost in his thoughts, Miroku put a loose grip on his staff as he mulled over a few things.  
  
'I had thought that now that Sango and I are back together, we would have an easier time in our relationship.' He sighed, and continued thinking, 'Yet it's as if someone put a barrier in between us: I can't find the time for her and if I happen to, she simply ignores me or she is too busy to pay any attention.  
  
'I can tell by the pained look in her eyes that she is constantly worrying about young Kohaku. I can only hope that she can conquer her fears before they conquer her.  
  
'Sometimes, I just can't figure out where she gets the strength to continue with life and keep on fighting even after she's lost so much: her family, her friends, her life among her fellow taijyas... sure, I've never seen my own mother and "lost" my father, but I never saw my mother die in front of me, or had my family get wiped out due to a trap set up by some demon. My dear Sango never ceases to amaze both physically and mentally. Speaking of physical attributes...'  
  
His mind visualized Sango's soft bottom (with every detail included of course: he touched and had seen that bottom too many times to create just a vauge image of it) , and the large boomerang or (preferably) the beautifully sculpted hand that soon followed. He could almost feel the slap/thwack on his head, causing the tired monk to chuckle. 'With a body that beautiful, it's well worth it.'  
  
His mind wandered off again, but this time to his and his companion's dire situation. 'The main problem is getting out: how are we supposed to escape from this imprisoning world? We certainly can't create another portal like the hole that used to be in my hand, we don't have that kind of expertise. Perhaps if we gathered our powers...?  
  
'Nah.' Breathing in the rapidly cooling night air, he stood up and brushed himself off with his hands. 'Well, time to go home.' "Kaze. Hishou. Kuuchuufuyou. Levitat-"  
  
"Not so fast bouzo!" came a high-pitched voice behind him.  
  
When he whirled around, he saw nothing. But Miroku soon trained in on the odd whooshing sound that was bothering his ears. He looked up...  
  
Just in time to see a large, bear sized creature with razor-edged wings swoop down at him, intent on severing his head and snacking on what was left.  
  
'Kuso, it's closing time and these bakas appear...#sigh# time to take out the trash.' He whipped his staff out into a defensive stance and began setting up a trap.  
  
'Kaze. Keigai. Susamajii. Disrupting Wind!" the gust blew fiercely, lashing out at the flying demons and disrupting their flight pattern.  
  
Wait a sec... demons? Plural? This day just kept getting better and better.  
  
Despite the heavy gale that buffeted them, the winged demons managed to regroup and formed a wedge formation, apparently keen on not letting him escape. Too bad they didn't realize one little fact:  
  
They were designed by Akuma to combat humans who were stuck on the ground. And Miroku was anything BUT stuck on the ground.  
  
Moments before the struck, Miroku let himself... "feel" his elemental power. Tapping into it, he blasted off again without having to mutter an incantation. Utterly bewildered, the demons swerved around and attempted to attack the now soaring monk, but they had already lost much of their momentum by swerving around. Their sluggish movements were easily predicted and dodged by Miroku.  
  
"Kaze. Doku. Bakuha. Sui. Acidic Blast!" A blast of purple gas shot out of Miroku's open palms as the winged fiends charged their quarry. Most of them managed to dodge in time, but two failed to do so, resulting in a very painful death by melting. The falling youkais managed to let out one last agonized shriek before the acid overtook their throats, silencing them forever.  
  
The leader of the squad screeched out, "Top-Bottom Pincer! Three on left, three on right!"  
  
'Hmm, planning to corner me, eh? Then try this on for size...' "Kaze. Atemi. Soujuu. Boufuu. Manipulating Wind!"  
  
The confusion plain even on their ugly faces, the youkai squadron attacking on Miroku's left kept flapping towards him.  
  
Soon, they found themselves blown into a crash course with their comrades attacking fro mthe right, with the monk nowhere to be found. The crash resulted in the dicing of four demons and one being wounded, the injured one vainly flapping its wings while on its death plunge.  
  
'And now for the rest.' "Kaze. Utsu. Yari. San!" Once again, the spears of carapace-piercing wind screamed their way toward the two remaining demons. One was pierced through the chest, its life gurgling out of its mouth and the gaping hole in its torso. The other one was scratched on the wing, enraging it beyond words.  
  
"Once I get my hands on you human, I will make you wish you were never born!"  
  
"You just try that!" Staff clashed against claws as the two airborne fighters met each other head on, their weapons a blur as they furiously slugged it out. But eventually...  
  
"Got you!" The bladed end of the staff sliced through the neck of the winged youkai, killing it instantly and spraying the victorious monk with life fluids. Finally allowing himself to relax, he settled down on the ground and wiped his staff on the sand.  
  
'Whew, glad that's over. Sango, hear I come!'  
  
-Sango's Training area-  
  
As she was packing up her equipment to head back to headquarters, she suddenly felt a chill run down her spine.  
  
'Why do I have the feeling that something terrible is going to happen tonight? And why do I feel that Houshi-sama is involved in this?' (A/N: take a guess why Sango had her premonition. XD)  
  
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And that's that.  
  
Read and Review!!!!! I would appreciate it if the people who I sent out reviews to returned the favor. 

###= When Miroku is blasting off, just think of how Neo from The Matrix blasts off: knees slightly bent, arms bent as if he was running, and then blast off. :D


	10. Trembling Earth: Sango

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Inuyasha or any of its characters.  
  
Why am I updating so soon you ask?  
  
...I don't know my self...j/k :P I have nothing to do right now so I thought, 'why not get Sango's training out of the way before I leave for three weeks?'  
  
Anyways:  
  
Shakujou and Tache: Thanks! :D  
  
Fred the Mutant Pickle and The-Great-Monk-Girl: Yep! W00t!!!! #Dances#  
  
Fred: thanks a lot! And Fred, I meant for Miroku's Matrix style take off to err, "read" cool, not for him to end up like Superman. : (  
  
Me: #Attempts to get Me off of earth elemental power addiction but fails miserably# ...meh, I tried... And excellent! You got the picture I was trying to describe when Miroku took off! Unlike Fred here...#glares...j/k#  
  
And one note: Sango's premonition was about her getting groped by Miroku. It was meant to be funny, and I tried to give you hints on why Sango had that forwarning of "evil", but it appears that I didn't try hard enough : (  
  
One last little thing: check my profile for future projects by me. You might find a little surprise there...  
  
""= Speech ''= Thoughts ##= Replacement for Asterisks  
  
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The volatile volcano spewed out hot lava again as the forces inside it churned and raged, the cloudy sky glowing crimson due to the molten rock that dotted the air. Ignoring the destruction around her, Sango hefted her boomerang Hiraikotsu and concentrated once more.  
  
#Pant# "Daichi. Hana. #Pant# Kongou. Diamond Edge!" With all her waning might, she threw the diamond edged boomerang at a strange rock formation, slicing it perfectly and smoothly in half. She unsummoned the dangerous diamond edge and caught her boomerang easily. Feeling exhausted, she decided to plop down for a rest, her pet Kirara leaping up onto her lap.  
  
"Whew! Let's take a break Kirara." The cat only replied with a friendly mew.  
  
She had been training for hours at the base of a volcano, at first thinking that the proximity to lava and the heat would help her during her training...  
  
All she ended up doing is feeling VERY hot, the proximity to her sub- element did absolutely nothing to help her, and she became EXTREMELY grumpy. Fortunately, she took out her stress the "positive way"- a.k.a. smash some poor rock pieces with Hiraikotsu before melting it down with her frustrated mind. Fortunately, all this managed to get her mind off of more stressful things...like Kohaku for example.  
  
Letting our a great #sigh#, Sango went back to work.  
  
"Daichi. Ten. Ishi. Shikkyaku. Kobushi. Heaven's Fist!" (A/N: I think Me's gonna like this)  
  
She waited patiently for the falling destruction...  
  
After a few seconds, she got her wish. A meteor, roughly three feet wide and red hot, came hurtling down right at her head. Using every ounce of mental energy she had, she managed to slow the speeding missile down to a reasonable speed and side stepped.  
  
"Daichi. Ryoku. Kedamono. Brute Strength of Earth!" Feeling the solid power of her element in her muscles, she held Hiraikotsu in a fashion where it would suffer the least amount of impact.  
  
'Here it comes...' "Daaaaaaah!"  
  
She swung with all her fury at the incoming meteor like a professional baseball player, a loud #crack# resounding over the sound of flowing lava. The meteor now sped like a baseball towards a raging volcano...  
  
40 meters until impact...  
  
30...  
  
10...  
  
#Crash!# The meteor blew a large hole straight into the heart of the volcano, causing a huge river of lava to snake forth, the serpentine head going right for the shocked demon slayer.  
  
After staring at the river with a look of "oh s###" on her sweaty face, she quickly summoned Kirara and took off to the sky, letting out a sigh of relief.  
  
'Now, to plug that hole back up...'  
  
She outstretched her had, gritting her teeth in concentration. Slowly, the snaking river of lava began slowing down, then reversed its course. Sweat running down her face, Sango still concentrated and forced the lava back into the volcano. And with a final spell...  
  
"Daichi. Tai. Dekata. Earth Mold!" Sango began to shape the very earth as if it was mere clay and forming a large plug, she slammed it into the gaping hole in the side of the volcano.  
  
'Ugh, finally...' She plopped down again in fatigue, her weary muscles screaming for a reprieve.  
  
'#Groan# So tired....mustn't...fall...aslee...' Try as she might, she failed to keep her eyes open...  
  
-Inside Sango's la la land-  
  
Sango trudged through the smoldering remains of the forest, the dying trees and scorched underbrush reminding her of somewhere familiar...  
  
The sky was purple, with evil jaki swirling all around her: it was so thick she could almost literally slice through it with Hiraikotsu. But the thing that really bothered her was, where were her companions? She couldn't see Kirara, Kagome, Inuyasha...not even that hentai. Then the sound of battle reached her ears, causing her to dash towards the apparent source.  
  
She picked her way through half-burnt trees and shrubs, her legs feeling a little scratched as she plowed her way through. When she finally got to the scene of battle, she was shocked beyond words.  
  
Her friends were fighting one-on-one with strange demons, and it appeared that they were outmatched. Kagome was just barely dodging several fireballs, Inuyasha was shot through the leg by a shard of ice, and Miroku was forced to fend off two of the creatures by himself. Unfortunately, he was severly wounded and had difficulty even standing up.  
  
"Houshi-sama!" She screamed, her own voice oddly muffled. Her voice echoed through the battle field, causing Miroku's head to turn to the familiar noise...  
  
His lack of attention was reprimanded with several tow-foot long spikes through the chest.  
  
Time seemed to slow as Miroku's eyes went wide with shock and began glazing over. He slowly fell, his lifeblood starting to stream out of his mouth and chest, the victorious demons behind him cackling madly. Just before he hit the ground, Miroku looked at her with his eyes showing...sadness? Hurt? Betrayal? He struck the ground with a muffled #thud#, his eyes completely glazed in death, his blood draining out of his mouth.  
  
"MIROKUUUUU!!"  
  
-Back to Reality-  
  
"AAAH!" Sango woke up in a shock. 'Oh kami, I just saw Miroku die... and it was all my fault!' A single tear trickled down her face and left a clear streak through the soot and grime. She calmed down when Kirara began to nuzzle her leg.  
  
'#Sigh# I need to stop dreaming like that...I might go crazy if I keep that up. But at least I got a good rest.'  
  
She sat up and resumed pondering about things.  
  
'I wonder how Kohaku is doing...is he still stuck in Japan, with no Naraku to guide him? Is he free of Naraku's control, now that he's not there? Is he on a murderous rampage?  
  
'#Sigh# Every time I see him, I feel so heartbroken. Why did a young boy as kindhearted as he is get pulled into this mess? He never deserved this! All he wanted was a peaceful life in our village... I should have protected him that day...it's all my fault...everything's my fault...'  
  
When that thought went through her mind, she automatically made a mental picture of her (least) favorite monk gently smiling down at her, his warm eyes hinting a little bit of sadness and worry. She smiled back, her pain eased by that warm glow.  
  
'But there's always Houshi-sama to look to... I don't know how, but he manages to cheer me up every time I feel sad.'  
  
The Miroku in her mind suddenly grinned in his lecherous fashion. With an annoyed look on her face she continued, 'And then there's the incessant groping...  
  
'But despite how I smack him every time he gropes, sometimes it feels...refreshing...' (A/N: who's the perv now Sango?)  
  
Blushing to herself, her mind wandered off to a time when she accidentally saw Miroku completely in the nude at the baths. He didn't notice her presence as he was turned away, and since Sango never had taken a close look at the monk before, her curiousity managed to over take her.  
  
She watched intently as the monk bathed himself while humming a little tune, the water running down his back and down to his...  
  
'Bad Sango! You're as bad as him now!' She blushed and giggled at the picture of the monk at the hot spring.  
  
She finally decided to go back to headquarters for some R & R. But when she picked up her boomerang, she felt something odd, like a chill down her spine.  
  
'Why do I have this weird feeling that something terrible is about to happen? And what does it have to do with Houshi-sama?'  
  
Her only clue was a familiar feeling on her butt...  
  
$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#  
  
And that's that! Read and Review!!!!!! 


	11. A little Rest and Frustration

Disclaimers: I do NOT own Inuyasha or any of its characters.  
  
Aaaaaand we're back! Sorry about my disappearance, as I stated earlier I was at debate camp for three weeks... So I had little time to write. But I'm back! This time with internet access! W00t!  
  
Thegreatjedi: Thanks for pointing that out! Man I feel like an idiot....  
  
Alawen of Mirkwood: Dragon ball Z with elements.... #imagines Goku spewing fire while readying up a Spirit Bomb# Oo  
  
K-chan9: ...Remind me to kill you guys the next time I see you (this stuff is an inside joke people: I do NOT have an affair with a pillow) how are your fics doing btw?  
  
Fred the Mutant Pickle: Yeah took you a while to notice :P (j/k) Of course sango enjoys being groped! She blushes for a reason!  
  
BombermanFantastic: thanks!  
  
Me: Oh well, go ahead, do what you want. I can't stop you... #secretly removes Me's powers# Bwa ha ha!!! And yes, the dream will have some future significance, although it will be slightly different. And uhh, sorry about leaving that power out... oops...  
  
Tache: Updating!  
  
Shakujou: Yes I made most of the elemental stuff up, but some of it was inspired from others. Sango's touch and die ability was from Rurouni Kenshin ( Sano's Futae no Kiwami) and etc.  
  
Well, that's it for now... on to the fic! This one's more of a filler chapter than anything.  
  
""= Speech ''= Thoughts ##= asterisks  
  
Stress. That nagging little feeling inside you that royally ticks you off. A lot. And the only way to really let it out is at the expense of others.  
  
"SIT!" #crash#  
  
"HENTAI!" #slap#  
  
"STUPID FOX!" #wham# "SIT!" #crash#  
  
#grope# well...you know what happens next.  
  
And what better way to remove stress other than a nice soak in a spring?  
  
"Aahh...the water feels so great! Come on in Sango-chan!" "Hai!" The sore girl hopped into the (very recently created) spring, came up, and relaxed by a rock (also recently created).  
  
"So how was your training Sango-chan?"  
  
"Pretty good! How was yours?"  
  
"It was alright, although I got attacked by a bunch of demons."  
  
"Really? Daijoubu?"  
  
"Hai, hai, it was nothing."  
  
They were silent for a moment, listening to the quiet bubbling of the spring as they looked into the starry night sky. Sango broke the silence with, "#Sigh# even here, in a place far away from home, that baka houshi STILL can't manage his hands. Kami I hate him so much!"  
  
Shocked by her friend's sudden outburst of anger, Kagome cautiously asked, "Do you really mean that Sango-chan?"  
  
"Hai, I really mean it! It feels like he's been nothing but trouble ever since we got here. He STILL gropes us, and he treats us like mere objects!"  
  
"But didn't you two have a happy reunion whe new first got here?"  
  
"Aa, but that was then. That baka will never change. How did I ever even get to like him?"  
  
Kagome decided to brush off her friend's ranting as something foolishly spouted off by stress (which it was), but she never noticed the shocked looking invisible monk who slowly got up and left.  
  
-And now with Miroku-  
  
'She hates me...' Was all he could think of, the three words pounding his brain like Sango's hand whenever he pulled off one of his "moves".  
  
'She'll never like me again...I bet she'll go off with someone else after all this is over...' He walked in a daze towards nowhere, then finally settled down at a little grove and began thinking.  
  
'I always used to think that Sango actually like me for who I was, not as just another fighting companion. But all those times she saved my life...was it because she couldn't afford to lose another fighter?'  
  
His conscious nagged, 'But what about those times when she worried about you? And remember that incident at Mt. Hakurei? And at that woman's village a little later when you proposed to her?'  
  
'Hai, but that was then. This is now.'  
  
He looked up into the canopy and let of a small sigh, thinking 'Am I going to lose her forever? If I do, nothing's worth it anymore... not myself, not my life, not even the killing of Naraku.  
  
'But is it up to me to decide whether of not Sango is to be with me? I would like to, but everyone around me seems to fall under mishap due to my failures and weaknesses. Yes...that's what I am. Weak. I'm nothing but a good for nothing, perverted, helpless 'monk' who constantly needs his friends to get out of a situation. All I had back then was the Void in my hand, and what good did that do? It only worsened the situation here.'  
  
His thoughts were interrupted by someone who walked into the grove. "Ano...Houshi-sama? Dinner's ready."  
  
"Huh? Oh, arigatou. But...how did you find me so quickly?"  
  
"Quickly? It took me two hours to find you! And I just took a bath too...say, did you peek on me while I was bathing?"  
  
But Miroku only asked, "Sango, tell me... do you truly hate me that much?"  
  
Sango was stunned, to say the least, but quickly gained her composure. "So you were peeking weren't you?!" she screeched. She slapped him as hard as she could. But instead of falling to the ground in pain, he simply took it and went back to his original sitting position.  
  
"Do you Sango?" he asked calmly.  
  
"Of course I do!" She ignore the monk's flinch at this. "You always mess around with other women, you lie and cheat other people, and even here, you keep groping me and Kagome-chan! What's with you, you perverted freak?!" She screamed. Obviously, the spring hadn't helped her relieve stress at all. Meanwhile, Miroku only sat and listened (painfully) to Sango's rant.  
  
"You know what? It was a mistake ever liking you Houshi-sama!"  
  
"Do you truly think so Sango?"  
  
"Hai, I do!" By now, Sango's rage of building to uncontrollable limits, and she had a strong urge to kick something hard. Really hard.  
  
"Damn-you-stupid-monk!" She yelled, punctuating each word with a swift kick. "Now get up! We have to get to dinner." She began walking towards the hideout, but abruptly stopped when she heard a coughing sound.  
  
"Umm, Houshi-sama? Daijoubu?" When he didn't answer, she stepped closer to inspect what was going on.  
  
Miroku was sitting in front of a small puddle of...blood? "Oh Kami, what have I done? Houshi-sama! You alright?"  
  
But Miroku simply ignored her and struggled to get up. When he finally did, he looked straight into her eyes.  
  
'#Gasp# What beautiful eyes...I'd forgotten his purple eyes were so pretty...but they're so sad...'  
  
"Sango," he gasped out in pain. "If you ever want me to go away, just ask... you shouldn't be with someone you truly hate after all."  
  
He struggled his way back to the hideout.  
  
"H-houshi-sama, matte!" He stopped near a tree and leaned on it, allowing himself to rest on its cool bark. "Please, houshi-sama, I-I didn't mean those things I said. I was just angry-" She stopped when Miroku fell to his knees clutching his stomach in pain.  
  
"H-houshi-sama!" He only chuckled, "Damn, woman, you have some pretty strong legs." He rose up once more and said, "Let's head back. The others must be worried."  
  
As they headed back, Sango muttered, "G-gomen nasai, houshi-sama." She looked up into his still pain-filled eyes, the silver moonbeams reflecting off of them.  
  
"It's nothing, Sango." He turned and gave her a sad smile.  
  
And that was the burden that broke the camel's back.  
  
She threw herself into Miroku's surprised chest, and buried her face in it, and immediately launched off into, "I feel so terrible! I'm so sorry, I was being stupid, I never really meant those things-"  
  
"Shh, it's alright. All is forgiven dear Sango."  
  
"Honto?"  
  
He smiled and nodded, and received a teary smile in return.  
  
"Now let's head back."  
  
-Meanwhile-  
  
"Bah, where are those two? Has the bouzou finally gotten sango laid-"  
  
"Inuyasha! You shouldn't say such things in front of Shippo-chan!"  
  
"Feh, whatever."  
  
"Kagome? What does it mean to get laid?"  
  
"See!? Look at what you did you baka!"  
  
"Nani?! How is it MY fault?"  
  
#bicker bicker#  
  
And soon...  
  
"OSUWARI!!"  
  
However, Inuyasha had unfortunately landed on top of Shippo (the kitsune was trying to pull a prank literally under Inuyasha's nose), causing Kagome to frantically try to pull Inuyasha off of him. However, Kagome pulled a little too hard, causing her to stumble backwards and trip over a small rock. Inuyasha somehow stumbled as well and was pulled on top of Kagome...  
  
Leaving them both in a very awkward position. They looked into each other's eyes for a long moment, and then...  
  
"Kagome-chan! Tadaima- NANI?!"  
  
Kagome and Inuyasha were never going to hear the end of it...

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And that's that! R&R!!!


	12. It Feels Good to be the Master

Disclaimers: I do NOT own Inuyasha or any of its characters.  
  
Hey everyone! I didn't get as much review this time but it's only been two days... #reminds self to be patient#  
  
Tache: Hmm, looks like you just made up a new chat room word... rolling on the floor laughing out loud (either that or I just never heard of it before)  
  
Fred the Mutant Pickle: Now now Fred, just because Sango's mad doesn't mean she needs to get treatment-it means we stick her in a room with 500 perverted Miroku clones!  
  
Shakujou: Thanks!  
  
Speech = "" Thoughts = '' Asterisks= ##

-Somewhere in the Void-  
  
The deep lagoon rumbled and screeched as the unearthly experiment headed towards completion.  
  
"Yes, yes," the crackling voice hissed. "almost ready, heh heh heh."  
  
The strange figure poured more and more chemicals into the enormous boiling pot, chanting a few odd words in the meanwhile. "Myou. Sujou, Baishuu, Soushi." The enchanter continued to repeat the dark incantations, the shadows dancing in corners of the laboratory. A loud and long cackle escaped from the cloaked one's lips as it raised its head and arms to the ceiling and shouted, "Behold! My masterpiece!"  
  
The spell seemed to have finally finished, as several figures began to rise forth from the bubbling sea of green.  
  
"Hehehahaha! Come forth my generals!  
  
Jigoku the Annihilator:" A humanoid shape sprang forward and immediately began to immolate itself, a feral grin on its lips.  
  
"Shougan the Hell Frost." A lean figure turned itself into a ball of water and leaped out of the pot and onto the ground, then reformed it self, a cold and calculating look on its face.  
  
"Tatsumaki the Gale Bringer." Another lean figure came forth; only this time, it flew out and landed with a harsh #thud# onto the stone floor. This creature looked completely insane.  
  
"Jishin the Earth Shaker." The pot was blow apart by a huge, burly figure that stepped out of what was left. It had an uncaring, emotionless look on its face as it pounded its fists and shook the entire lagoon from top to bottom.  
  
"Finally...Nisshou the Justicar." A shining figure seemingly made from pure light came forth looking somewhat perplexed. It began, "This place...so full of corruption..." It quickly turned to its creator and shouted, "You! You are the source of this demonic energy! Prepare to die youka-" It was suddenly cut off when the creator stepped towards it and clamped a hand around Nisshou, a strange dark light erupting from the creator's palm as he did so.  
  
"Tryig to resist eh? Good, good, I like a fierce spirit." It cackled once more as Nisshou twitched several times, then fell to the floor. When he rised up again, it bowed and mumbled, "Master..."  
  
"Yes, yes yes yes! Bwa ha ha ha ha! You will follow me my warriors! And I will make you great!"  
  
It was good being the master, thought Akuma.  
  
"Umm...master? Could you go over our names again?"  
  
Except when one's minions asked dumb stuff like that...  
  
"#sigh# Fine you bakas. Jigoku, Shougan, Tatsumaki, Jishin, and Nisshou. Got it?"  
  
"Hai!"  
  
-At the Inu-gumi's headquarters-  
  
Sango trudged through the forest, following the melody of a beautiful flute tune. 'I wonder who plays the flute. Kagome-chan? No, she told me she doesn't play an instrument. Shippo? No, he's too little. Inuyasha? Hmm...  
  
Nah. That brute probably couldn't bet a drum without smashing it apart,' she giggled.  
  
Before she could continue any further, she suddenly came into a calm clearing with a robed figure leaning against a tree. "Ah, Sango. I thought you were asleep."  
  
"Iie, I couldn't fall asleep and someone was playing the flute so..."  
  
"Did I wake you up Sango? Gomen nasai."  
  
"I-iie! I liked it actually!"  
  
"Honto? Arigatou." He continued to play a hauntingly beautiful melody, serenading his koishi (although she had no idea what Miroku was really doing) and the moon.  
  
After a short while, Sango tried to work up a conversation again. "Houshi- sama? When did you start playing the flute?" He stopped playing and stated, "When I was only five. My father decided that since he couldn't hire geishas to play the flute for him everyday-not that he wouldn't have minded it- (at this Sango gave a loud snort) I was to learn how to play. At first I hated it, but soon I learned that I could put my musical skills to a good use."  
  
"Like attracting women?"  
  
#Sigh#  
  
He shook his head in mock sadness and simply continued to play.  
  
Soon...  
  
"Houshi-sama? Gomen ne for what I did to you earlier."  
  
Once more he stopped playing and he gave her a friendly smile. "I told you Sango, it was nothing. You were just angry that's all." He turned away from her and looked up into the stars and muttered, "Remember, learn from the past. Don't dwell on it."  
  
Sango could only look upon him in surprise: she never expected him to come up with something like that. "Wow...that was pretty deep."  
  
"Arigatou, koishi."  
  
'N-nani?! Koishi? What the heck is he thinking? Wait...I could get used to being called that.' She giggled and blushed, making sure that Miroku didn't see (and failed miserably at that attempt).  
  
She decided to come sit down next to him, since there was nothing else to do other than listen to him play. After a while...  
  
"Hey, you think either one of them will make a move?" someone whispered.  
  
"Shh! They'll hear us!"  
  
"I'm betting Miroku's going to pull something perverted.  
  
"Keh."

"I second that."  
  
Miroku abruptly stopped playing for a few seconds, but continued after Sango whispered, "Keep playing, we'll get them later."  
  
But after a little while Miroku decided to stop. He only looked up into the indigo sky and said to her, "A lot of people say that when you look up into a starry sky, you will see what you desire most. What do you see?"  
  
She looked up, but only saw a myriad of twinkling stars and the huge moon. "I don't see anything. What do you see?"  
  
"I see Sango, a picture of us together. I see a portrait of our family, loving and close-knit as they get. I can see our children running out in the yard, and you and I sitting on the porch watching our children." He turned to the right and flashed another smile, chuckling to himself on the inside when he saw her blushing furiously.  
  
"But that's in the future. Right now, what I see is this." Before Sango could react, Miroku wrapped his arms around her and kissed.  
  
(A/N: Now everyone say, "Awwww...." And now comes the mushy stuff... I was never good at describing kissing scenes anyway. :P )  
  
'Wow,' she thought. 'This-is-the-best-thing-ever.' What could she say? This was a drop of heaven. She pulled away before she passed out from oxygen deprivation. "That...was wonderful." She snuggled close into Miroku and closed her eyes in happiness...  
  
Or at least pretended to do so. Not looking up from her (extremely comfortable) position, she whispered, "Now, what should we do about these peepers?"  
  
-In the bushes-  
  
"Kyaa! That's so kawai!"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Eww! Grownups kissing! Blech!"  
  
"Heh heh! Told you dad, Miroku's the only man in our blood line who doesn't grope in these sorts of situations!"  
  
"Hey, where'd they go?  
  
The spies looked around the clearing for any sign of the formerly kissing couple, but they were nowhere in sight. Then they heard a voice that sounded very much like a death knell.  
  
"Looking for someone?"  
  
-Later at the headquarters-  
  
"Ugh. WHY do we have to do this again Kagome?"  
  
"Because we spied on Sango and Miroku, that's why."  
  
"You know it! Now get back to cleaning!" Sango looked very much like a demoness from Hell working a group of cursed souls to death, complete with whip and imaginary horns.  
  
"Err, Sango? Don't you think this has gone a little too far?"  
  
"Nope, they deserve this. Shippo!" The young kitsune flinched at the sound of his name and fearfully looked towards Sango (making sure he didn't make eye contact of course). "H-h-hai?" he trembled. "You've done enough. Go out and sleep or something.  
  
Letting out a terrified yelp, he dashed for the door and never looked back.  
  
Ahh, it was good to be the master.

Since I updated quicker than usual, review my minions! Bwa ha ha!


	13. The Four

Disclaimers: I do NOT own Inuyasha or any of its characters.

PhantomSamurai: Thanks! And good luck with your stories!

Shakujou: Thanks! What can I say? Ladies tend to be suckers for good music. :D

Serenity17: Nice to hear that you're starting off on the right foot with M/S pairings. :D

Samurai of Vengeance: Patience young one, patience. I can't churn out 5 chapters a day you know :P

Fred the Mutant Pickle: Yes! Review slave! (j/k)

""= Speech ''= Thoughts ##= Asterisks

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The once cozy cave was full of agonized moans of the poor workers who were nearly slaved to death the last night. Excluding two people, everyone was on the ground clutching their back or an equally agonizing limb.

"Ohayo minna-san! Oh, still asleep?" Sango was answered only by a series of groans and muffled wails.

"Are you sure we haven't overworked them Sango?"

"Nope. They had this coming." She somehow still managed to look really…creepy. (A pair of devil horns and a tail comes to mind.)

She decided to get a breath of fresh air and headed outside, the morning sun greeting her like a cheerful mailman. She simply smiled and drew in a nice deep breath of the crisp morning atmosphere.

-Inside the Headquarters-

"Ahh, arigatou Kagome-sama. I feel right as rain now! No thanks to that youkai woman…"

Kagome had been busy in the meanwhile- it was up to her to ease sore muscles and "broken" backs (being a water elementalist has its perks after all). Letting out a breath of exhaustion, she mumbled, "Ugh. No problem…" and lurched outside to take a bath.

While the rest of the women were outside, Miroshin decided to strike up a conversation.

"Oi, Miroku, that was a pretty slick move you put on Sango last night," he said with a perverted grin.

Miroku could only blush and mutter a quick "Arigatou otou-san," before he tried to turn away and face the wall (like there's anything interesting back there).

'Miroku, blushing?!' thought Inuyasha. 'Is the world really coming to an end?'

Meanwhile, Mirosuke decided to join in the fun. "Aye, I remember when I was back in Japan. I proposed to your grandmother the very same way-"

"Umm, grandfather-"

"And I too with your mother!" Interrupted Miroshin.

"She couldn't say no to my unltra-slickness!"

"Same here!"

The little quips kept coming at him like a hail storm-a few more minutes of this and Miroku's head would be finding it self scattered all over. Clutching his head in tortured agony, he stood up, screamed "YAMERO!!!!!" and dashed like a demon towards the entrance.

He was almost there when…

#Trip# "Woaaaaaaah--#Crash#"

The hapless monk had tripped over a pile of scrolls that had been lying around for some reason. While he was dazed and attempting to get up…

"Woah, where did you ever get these scrolls featuring scantily clad women?"

"I got them from some perverted painter in Kyoto. Why do you ask?"

"Eh, I was wondering if I could get some-"

He froze when he saw Miroku slowly turn towards them.

"Oi Miroku, daijoubu?...huh? Oh crap-"

Even Inuyasha quailed at the sight of the enraged monk. 'Kami, he looks almost exactly like Kagome when she's royally ticked off, except 500 times worse…'

His left eyebrow twitching in anger, he asked in a (frighteningly) calm voice, "So good old grandfather here cause me to trip just because he was looking at…. 'pictures' and laid them out everywhere? I'm not in a good mood minna-san, so I highly suggest you don't anger me more than I already am."

Silence…

And then Mirosuke piped up, "So you want to take a look at them? They're very nice-"

The #SMACK# that followed managed to shake the entire cave from top to bottom.

'#Sigh#' thought Inuyasha. 'Lechers are all the same, aren't they?'

Miroku was just about to give his grandfather another Monk-style beat down when Sango and Kagome dashed in, looking distraught. "Kagome-sama? Sango? What's wrong?"

"We're under attack! I-it's a huge force of a bunch of demons!"

"Nani?!" Surprised, the entire gang rushed outside…

And were greeted by about 150 demons of various shapes and sizes.

'Kuso,' thought Inuyasha, 'and we just woke up and recovered too.'

Wearing a grim mask, Miroku bravely said, "There's no point in standing here for them to kill us. Ready everyone?" Luckily, everybody had their weapons in hand.

"Chaaaaarge!!!"

Miroshin and Mirosuke, who were not quite as young as they used to be, stayed behind and began chanting.

"Kaze. Atemi. Fuzei. Wind Fist!"

A large "glob" of air sprang forth from the monks' hands and smashed apart the front line of the demons, allowing the rest of the gang to charge in and blow apart the dazed attackers.

"Daichi. Hana. Kongou. Diamond Edge!"

"Kaze. Doku. Sui. Corrosive Miasma!"

"Ho. Rai. Boruto. Lightning Bolt!"

Wanting to keep it simple, Kagome decided to simply fire into the crowd.

The effects of the Corrosive Miasma and the Lightning Bolt were catastrophic. Dozens of Demons were disintegrated on contact, and scores more gave the fighters a wide berth.

Bad mistake.

"Ho. Ibuki. Shonetsu. Infernal Breath!"

Inuyasha took a deep breath, then let it out again like a dragon. Once more, demons were killed like flies.

"My turn!" shouted Sango. "Daichi. Kugutsu. Ganseki. Stone Golem!" With a flick of her hand, the earth beneath her began rumbling, then soon began forming into a humanoid shape. A few moments later…

"Attack!" The 20-foot tall golem stomped forward and began swatting away demons. But one managed to sneak through. "Hiraikotsu!" shouted Sango, while her boomerang flew towards its target.

Bullseye.

Then she suddenly sensed something behind her: in other words, an angry looking imp with a spear in his hand. The imp screamed wildly, and charged while flailing its spear-like weapon…

So Sango simply crouched down, yanked the spear out of the imp's hands, gave it a death glare, then channeled energy through her hand into the weapon. The spear was so flimsy that instead of simply shattering into bits and pieces, it became a small pile of dust and settled on the ground.

The imp, completely cowed now, squealed and attempted to flee but brained by a rock-wielding Shippo.

And so the carnage resumed.

-About 30 minutes later-

After the golem managed to destroy a good number of demons, the offenders suddenly stopped and backed away-but not in total retreat.

'What are they doing?' thought Kagome. Usually demons don't stop attacking unless…

"Inuyasha!" she shouted. "I think these demons are under someone's control!"

A voice that wasn't Inuyasha's grated, "About time you figured that out you foolish ningen."

Everyone turned towards the source of the noise and saw a quartet of evil looking demons strutting arrogantly towards them. The one on the farthest left had a feral look on his face; the one next to him had a look of pure insanity and appetite for destruction; the blue-hued demon on the right had a cold, calculating look. Finally, the one on the farthest right had a stolid, blank look.

"We are under orders to send you to the next world," stated the same demon.

"Under who's orders?" Retorted Inuyasha.

The flaming demon on the left simply snorted and said, "What use do the dead need of information? Prepare to die." It suddenly raised its arms and let out a huge pillar of fire straight at Inuyasha.

"Argh!" Inuyasha barely managed to dodge. 'Ugh…that was close…' He turned to the rest of the fighters and yelled, "Oi, minna, they're not your average demon grunt! Be careful!" He got a few nods of response.

'Kuso…that blast would have taken me a while to concentrate if I was using it myself…but he just whipped it out on whim. Who are these guys?'

The rest of the demon quartet laughed (except the one on the far right-the last one) and its apparent leader, the blue one, replied mockingly, "You're right: we aren't your average demons. Now be quiet and prepare to die!"

Everyone put up their weapons as the air tensed. It would only take one sudden move to initiate the battle.

And who else but Inuyasha made that move?

"You die first you b######s! Ho. Rai. Boruto. Lightning Bolt!"

"Pitiful hanyou!" The flaming demon simply dodged Inuyasha's attack and struck him contemptuously across the face, causing Inuyasha to fly backwards.

"Inuyasha!!" Shouted Kagome. Suddenly she had the blue demon in front of her.

"Scream wench!" It blasted Kagome with a powerful jet of water, knocking her backwards too.

"Houshi-sama! We must stick together!

…"Demo, Houshi-sama?"

"I'm a little…#grunt# busy right…now…Sango…Argh!" Miroku was trying to fend off the crazed demon as it tried to slice him with its scythe like arms.

"Ehehehehe! Blood! Destruction! Dieeeee!!" It blew Miroku into a small whirlwind that lifted him up into the sky.

"H-Houshi-sama!" shouted Sango. She suddenly felt a large presence behind her.

"Your fight is with me, b####." Before Sango could react, it grabbed her by the throat and began squeezing.

By now, Miroshin and Mirosuke dashed as fast as they could to help their comrades, but the fire demon created a large ring around the battle ground, effectively shutting off the monks from the fight.

"Heh heh heh… Fools. You could never defeat us, the Four," the demons said in unison.

"Jigoku the Incinerator."

"Shougan the Hell Frost."

"…Geh heh heh heh!" #sigh# "He is Tatsumaki the Gale Bringer."

"Jishin the Ruiner."

Once again, they spoke in unison; "No humans can defeat us, for we are perfect. We are the only true demons alive who have true elemental powers here. Fear us, mortals."

'Demons with full elemental powers?!' thought Miroku. 'This does not bode well…

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Read & Review!


	14. Duels to the Death

Disclaimers: I do NOT own Inuyasha or any of its characters.  
  
Hey folks! I'm back again with an update!  
  
Hayai-Hakai: Well, here's a new chapter. Enjoy!  
  
Stephanie: You really think so? Thanks!  
  
Fred the Mutant Pickle: Hmm...you cooking? (This is about your review to chapter 12)  
  
-Fred's kitchen-  
  
Fred the Mutant Pickle was innocently whistling a tune while adding various ingredients into his "soup".  
  
'Let's see... some carrots, a few onions, a pinch of salt, a few teaspoons of gasoline, a bottle full of ectoplasm, a few rabid fangirls, a little cyanide... wait, cyanide?...meh.'  
  
Suddenly, in a puff of smoke and a flash of lightning, the once red liquid inside the pot turned swiftly into green. A figure slowly rose from the pot...  
  
"It's alive!!" Fred screamed. "Oh gods, what have I done?!"  
  
The creature inside the pot turned out to be a man-eating imp. It hopped out of the cooking ware, gave Fred a manical grin (and showing a mouthful of shark-tooth like fangs while doing so) and jumped through the open window.  
  
...  
  
Fred didn't really know what he unleashed, but whatever it was, it was bad. Very bad.  
  
There would be no dawn for mankind...  
  
O.o Yeah that was weird. Sorry about that. :D And down, you hyper pickle.  
  
Shakujou: Thanks! And how's your fic coming along by the way?  
  
Sangolancer200: Alright, this one's for you. :P  
  
""= Speech  
  
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Inuyasha barely dodged another Flame Strike made by Jigoku, the tunnel of fire missing his face by just two feet. 'Kuso,' he thought, ' if this keeps going on I'll be made into dog roast...' His companions weren't faring too well either.  
  
Kagome quickly ducked and missed a decapitating strike by a hair's breadth, the diamond-sharp arm whistling over her head. Fortunately, the force of his own blow sent Shougan off balance, so Kagome took this time to attack.  
  
"Mizu. Aisu. Senshu. Boruto. Chilling Bolt!" She sent a freezing shard of ice at her attacker...  
  
Who simply sneered and liquefied himself, then solidified afterwards. "What's wrong, wench? Why the surprise? Did you think that we could only use the primary powers of our element?"  
  
He stepped forward and cockily proclaimed, "We, the Four, can do everything you weaklings can do and much more! As we said, you cannot defeat us." He returned to his fighting position and said, "And here is proof. Steam Form!" In a flash of blue energy, Shougan turned himself into a large, rolling cloud of steam.  
  
"Heh heh heh. Did you know, little girl, that steam burns flesh even better than boiling water?" He thought that he could easily scare Kagome away with his show of force. Unfortunately he couldn't have been more wrong.  
  
"Yes, I learned that in physics class at school!" At that, she began chanting her own spell.  
  
"Mizu. Aisu. Kumo. Retsu. Freezing Cloud!" A large cloud of freezing air billowed towards Shougan, who was currently pondering, 'Physics class? Never heard of that before... sounds like a class for bakas! Wa ha ha-' "What the?!"  
  
This time, it was Kagome's turn to gloat. "Did you also know that when steam is cooled, it turns back into water?"  
  
"Kuso, kisama..." His ice-like eyes bore into her. 'Heh, she'll never see this one coming...'  
  
-Meanwhile, Inuyasha's having his hands (paws/claws?) full with Jigoku-  
  
"Kisama! Eat this! River of Lightning!"  
  
"Ugh!" Once again Inuyasha managed to save his doggy hide from being vaporized by lightning with his fast reflexes. 'Doesn't this guy ever get tired? He's been pummeling me like crazy for like an hour! Woah!' He dodged another flaming fist that threatened to give him a little more than a black eye.  
  
"Oi, ugly! Is that it- hey, where'd he go?" Trusting his instincts, Inuyasha whipped around in time to see a foot racing towards his chest.  
  
'Kuso!' he thought again. 'Too fast-' He failed to dodge a punch thrown at his face.  
  
#Thoof!# Everyone heard the sound of flesh meeting flesh as Jigoku's fist met with Inuyasha's face. The hanyou flew into the flame barrier, got bounced off, and then landed heavily onto the ground.  
  
"Inuyasha!!" screamed Kagome in worry. She herself, however, got blasted by a powerful jet of water.  
  
"Heh heh heh, your fight is with me, wench. You humans are too easily distracted.  
  
-Meanwhile, Miroku and Sango are having their own problems-  
  
"Hee hee hee! Die monk! Die die die die die die!!" shrieked the deranged demon Tatsumaki.  
  
'What's with this guy?' thought Miroku as he attempted to fly away from the wind demon's death zone. 'He's completely insane!'  
  
"Wheeeeeee! Time to bleed monk!" He threw out another multitude of blades that Miroku just barely managed to block.  
  
'Grr, he's too unpredictable! I can't tell where his next attacks are!' He suddenly came up with an idea. "Not going where I want you to, huh, Tatsumaki? Try this on for size! Kaze. Atemi. Soujuu. Boufuu. Manipulating Wind!" He sent a gust of wind that enveloped Tatsumaki in his tracks and held him there.  
  
"Ha! Think that's going to stop me, the great Tatsumaki the Gale? You make me laugh! Literally! Wa ha ha ha ha!" And with that, he blew out an incredible gale that utterly denied Miroku's spell from doing anything.  
  
"Nani?!" shouted Miroku. Tatsumaki decided to take advantage of this situation by charging and giving Miroku a horrendous gash that ran from his shoulder to his hips on his back.  
  
"Gah!" he gasped. Tatsumaki then grabbed Miroku, wrapped him in a hug (A/N: No, not that way...get your minds out of the gutters...) and sped down towards the ground in an attempt to throw Miroku into the hard rock. (#1) Fortunately, Sango was vigilant enough to notice this despite the fact that she wad being held by the throat and was starting to choke.  
  
'I've got to save him,' she desperately thought. She stretched her hand out and created a large pillar of mud to cushion Miroku as he fell.  
  
#SPLAT!# The entire arena was covered in mud as the two combatants slammed into the mound at high velocities. Ignoring the mud on her face, Sango cast a worried look to where the pile of mud once was, but her attention soon turned to an emotionless earth demon who stared her down.  
  
"That was not wise human." He threw her roughly down to the ground and began pummeling Sango with his fists. #Bam# #Bam# #Bam# The stone fists repeatedly slammed into Sango's vulnerable stomach, while all Sango could do was feebly ward off the blows with her arm.  
  
"Sango!! Yamero you b######!" A wind blade flew out of nowhere and severed both of Jishin's arms off at the elbow. The demon simply looked up and retreated.  
  
"Sango, daijoubu?" said Miroku worriedly.  
  
'Huh? Who is that..' "H-houshi-sama?" After a moment or two she bolted up. "Are you alright? H-how are you not injured?"  
  
"I managed to turn myself so that Tatsumaki ended up being underneath me. What about yourself?"  
  
"Me? I'm fine-argh!" She tried her best to stave off the numbing pain in her stomach, but failed. Crawling on all fours, she began coughing blood.  
  
"Sango!"  
  
"#cough# it's alright, I'll live. What about the rest of them? How are they holding up?"  
  
"Badly. Inuyasha can't catch up with Jigoku's speed, and Kagome-sama is having trouble against Shougan. She's just not used to fighting hand-to- hand." Sango only replied with a nod.  
  
"It looks like Jishin and Tatsumaki are out for now, let's go help-"  
  
"Sango, look out!" She whirled around and was greeted by a spinning disc that came right for her neck.  
  
"Eek!" she yelped. Fortunately, she managed to duck in time due to a certain monk who tackled her.  
  
"A-arigatou houshi-sama."  
  
"Hai, it's nothing. Looks like our 'friends' here weren't so incapitated after all."  
  
Sango finally managed to get a good look at the two attackers. The first, Tatsumaki, looked somewhat dazed but seemed fine otherwise. The second, Jishin, got his arms back.  
  
"Nani?!" Sango said, horrified. "Your arms were cut off! How are they back to normal?"  
  
The stolid demon simply replied, "Earth regenerates the flesh." Afterwards, he summoned a large rock and hurled it at Miroku and Sango. 'Oh crap,' she thought. 'Good thing Hiraikotsu still has the diamond edge.'  
  
"Hiraikotsu!" The tumbling rock split in half and barely missed the couple.  
  
"Whew! Nice shot," muttered the monk.  
  
As the two warriors rejoined battle, Miroku began to think about a few things.  
  
'Jigoku seems to fight out of pure rage: his anger is what fuels his speed, agility, and strength. Even Inuyasha cannot over come his ferocious attacks.  
  
'Shougan attacks with superior technique: Kagome-sama can't hope to defeat him unless she can force him to fight under the sway of emotions.  
  
'Tatsumaki attacks with the desire for destruction. He puts his speed to devastating use and his insanity makes him too unpredictable for me to fight successfully.  
  
'Jishin fights with heavy, single blows rather than a furious assault. His ability to regenerate his flesh does not bode well for us...'  
  
-Back to Kagome-  
  
By now Kagome was sporting a few gashes here and there, plus a broken foot. She limped painfully as she tried her best to dodge Shougan's next attack.  
  
"Heh, do you like my Waterflow Technique human? (#2) " he mocked. "Your weak human senses cannot see through my technique. For that, you will surely die." He held out his summoned blade horizontally straight outward, then moved to the side and faded from view. He reappeared momentarily later behind Kagome, which caused her to whip around and fire an arrow (which of course, missed completely). He moved to the side and disappeared again, this time coming from the left.  
  
"Die, ningen wretch."  
  
Inuyasha managed to notice this in time. "Kagome!!" But a huge jet of fire stopped him in his tracks.  
  
'Kami no! she'll get skewered!'  
  
"Aieeee!"  
  
#splash#  
  
...  
  
.......  
  
Splash? Where did that come from?  
  
Kagome looked down in surprise and saw that Shougan's arm was plunged through her stomach, and the impact of his blow left her skin and clothes rippling like the surface of a puddle.  
  
"Nani..." muttered Shougan. He decided to take a quick retreat.  
  
"Hmm... perhaps you CAN put up a little bit of a fight." He grinned sadistically. "Oh, this will fun..."  
  
-Now to Inuyasha-  
  
Inuyasha let out a breath of relief when it turned out that Kagome was safe.  
  
Now back to reality...  
  
Due to his lack of attention on his opponent, Inuyasha failed to see the fist that came at his stomach.  
  
"OOF!" he grunted. Before he could recover, Jigoku held Inuyasha's hair in his hands and forced him to stand keeled over.  
  
"Weakling hanyou. You should know your place." #smack# another punch to the gut. "A half-breed like you will never rise up to wield the great might of a full demon." #smack# yet another punch. "You think that sword will get you to that spot, don't you?" #smack# #smack# "Fool! I will teach you to not be so insolent!" #smack# #smack# #smack# After the multiple gut punches, Jigoku picked up the dazed Inuyasha and slammed him hard into the ground.  
  
"Now die, scum." He raised his arm to deliver the final blow, but pause momentarily when he heard a low growl. "Hmm, what was that now?"  
  
Inuyasha's breath came out in sharp, ragged huffs. "Do you...think that...I actually care?"  
  
This made him mad.  
  
"Y-you don't care?" he breathed.  
  
This time Inuyasha looked utterly confused. "Yeah, what's it to you?"  
  
This ended him up kissing the dirt again. "Have you lost all pride as a demon, fool?! You bring shame upon our race just by traveling with these...pests! That girl is your weakness, you baka! And because of that, you will never defeat me!" He tried to punch Inuyasha again, but this time Inuyasha grabbed hold of Jigoku's fist and swung him into the ground.  
  
Inuyasha slowly stood up, whether he was trembling with rage or pain no one could tell. "Kagome and my friends are NOT my weakness, idiot. They are my source of power- so don't even THINK about calling them my weakness. GOT IT?!" He screamed out the last part.  
  
Jigoku simply chuckled as he lay sprawled on the cold earth. "Heh heh heh...yes boy... let your anger consume you. Fight me when you're angry! It's a lot more fun that way."  
  
So the duels of death continued...  
  
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I made this one extra long for the action scenes. Hope you liked it!

Notes: #1 If you have seen Matrix Revolutions, then think about the scene when Smith grabs Neo and flies down towards earth with Neo.

#2 I got this move from Rurouni Kenshin (Aoshi's Kiten Kenbu attack)


	15. Tears of an Angel

Disclaimers: I do NOT own Inuyasha or any of its characters.  
  
Hey folks! Sorry about the lack of quick updates...I was getting a little bit lazy. #grins sheepishly#  
  
Anyways...  
  
Fred the Mutant Pickle: Hey, no problemo. :D And you really think my stuff's good? Thanks!  
  
Another thing, I made all the characters fight the same element because I wanted them to fight the "dark side" of their element.  
  
Hayai-hakai: Yeah, too bad not a lot of people know exactly what I'm talking about... I highly recommend you see Rurouni Kenshin: the action's great!  
  
Wandering Namekian: What's wrong with the short bald guy? Everyone likes the short bald guy!  
  
Shakujou: No problem. :D And I can't wait to see chapter 15 for your fic!  
  
IMPORTANT NOTE: AFTER THIS CHAPTER, THIS FIC WILL NOW CONTAIN AT LEAST 20,000 WORDS! HURRAY!!!  
  
Another note: When Miroku goes "Haaah...huuuh." That means that it's one of those scenes where you can hear the person breathing in and out really loud.  
  
Speech= ""  
  
Thoughts= ''  
  
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The battle had still not stopped: flames blazed, water and iced chilled the fighting arena, gales ripped through the air, and the earth trembled as if the gods had decided to make their appearance.  
  
Inuyasha and Jigoku were attempting to tear each other apart, so strong was their fury. They paid no heed to anything else as they grappled and tried to put their claws into play for rending and tearing.  
  
Kagome and Shougan, however, were walking a thin line: circling each other slowly (due to Kagome's injured foot), they glared at each other at dared one another to make a mistake.  
  
Miroku was still busy fending off the attacks of Tatsumaki, although he was starting to develop a rhythm: wait until Tatsumaki seemed to fatigue, then strike hard and fast. He wasn't sure how long he could keep this up, however.  
  
Finally, Sango had her hands full evading Jishin's bone-crushing attacks. Because her only advantage over him was her speed, the best she could do was play keep away and aim for his head with Hiraikotsu (although she only ended up cutting off his arm 50 times).  
  
This sort of routine continued on until...  
  
"Argh!" Jigoku had finally gotten the better of Inuyasha as the former grabbed the latter by the throat and slammed him repeatedly into the ground. Then Jigoku took his left claw, raised it high, then plunged it straight into Inuyasha's chest without hesitation.  
  
"Die hanyou filth!!" he screeched.  
  
Inuyasha gasped and his eyes widened at the shock and pain of an entire hand going through his chest. Then he began to spasm all over has Jigoku channeled electricity into him through the arm.  
  
"Yeeeargh!"  
  
"Inuyasha!" screamed Kagome. "Get off of him you cree-eep!" she was stopped abrubtly when Shougan jumped and landed in front of her.  
  
"I am your opponent, wench. The others are of no concern."  
  
'Inuyasha...' thought Kagome worriedly. 'Just hold on...'  
  
-Meanwhile, Miroku's fighting Tatsumaki-  
  
#Clang# #Clang# The sounds of blade meeting staff clashed throughout the battle field.  
  
Miroku forced himself to continue concentrating on the opponent before him. Now that he was getting used to Tatsumaki's erratic attacks, he found fighting him much easier.  
  
"Why won't you die monk?! BLEED!!" screamed Tatsumaki. Suddenly, Miroku hopped over to the side and allowed Tatsumaki's vicious attack to pass him by harmlessly.  
  
"N-nani?!"  
  
"This is the end Tatsumaki! Kaze. Utsu. Yari. San! Wind Spear!" Several armor crushing, flesh tearing spears of wind skewered Tatsumaki on the shoulders and stomach, dropping the demon like a stone.  
  
"AARGH! The pain!!" the wounded youkai decided that deiscretion was the better part of valor and limped off in defeat (and taking care to avoid the flame barrier while doing so).  
  
'Whew, that's one finally down,' thought Miroku. 'Now to assist my friends.' "Kagome-sama! Hold on! I'm coming!"  
  
-Kagome and Inuyasha's battle-  
  
"Eek!" 'Ugh, that was close!' Kagome dodged yet another deadly strike by Shougan and drew her bow. "#Huff# Come on, hit..."  
  
#Twang#  
  
Instead of hitting, however, Shougan pulled off a dodge that rivaled Neo and lunged, his arm stretched out in a strike.  
  
'Oh no! I can't dodge this one-' Kagome was suddenly blinded by intense pain as Shougan's needle sharp arm plunged itself into her leg.  
  
The pain was so terrible that all Kagome could do was let out a gurgle and collapse to the ground, while Shougan transformed his hand into a katana blade and prepared to deliver the coup de grace.  
  
"Heh heh heh, I win human."  
  
"KAGOME!!"  
  
While he was being pummeled by Jigoku, Inuyasha noticed that Kagome was in major trouble. His body was in intense pain and he could hardly move let alone fight back at Jigoku, but seeing Kagome become injured and nearing death's door pushed him over the edge.  
  
"GET OFF OF HER!!! INCENDIARY COUMBUSTION!!" Inuyasha's eyes blazed with flaming energy then let out a huge explosion from inside himself, using his mind to shield himself, Kagome, and his two other comrades if they were in the blast radius.  
  
The wall of fire that erupted from Inuyasha blew Jigoku off of him and slammed him into the flame barrier: meanwhile, Shougan was caught completely off guard and was blown forwards by the explosion's concussive force. Both landed with a dull #thud# and moved no more.  
  
Seeing the display of power by Inuyasha, Miroku simply sweatdropped and muttered, "Well, that was a waste of time..." then he continued, "I just hope they're alright. Oi, Sango, how are you holding up over there?"  
  
"Houshi-sama! Help!"  
  
"Coming!"  
  
It turned out that Sango was cornered by Jishin, and due to an injury on her leg, it didn't look like she would be able to get herself out of there any time soon. Fortunately, the rest of her companions surrounded Jishin and cornered him.  
  
"Jishin," spoke Miroku commandingly. "You are surrounded and out numbered. Your companions are defeated. Now leave quietly, unless you would like a four on one battle against us."  
  
The burly demon simply looked at him in his usual emotionless fashion, then slowly turned around and gathered the unconscious bodies of Jigoku and Shougan.  
  
"You have defeated us out of a fluke, humans," rumbled Jishin. "But this is hardly the end. Our fifth brother awaits you." He suddenly opened up a deep tunnel beneath the earth and disappeared in a cloud of dirt.  
  
"Whew!" breathed Miroku. "That was easier than expected."  
  
"Good thing Houshi-sama's smooth tongue saved us from another battle."  
  
"Just like how he cons villagers out of a free meal and a room," giggle Kagome.  
  
Showing fake hurt, Miroku simply said, "You wound me, Kagome-sama. After all the effort I put into for getting us a fine room and some warm food you treat me like this." He shook his head in mock shame. "Tsk, tsk. It's not good for your karma to do that Kagome-sama."  
  
"Since when did you value karma, bouzo?"  
  
"Oh? And where did you find the strength to speak Inuyasha?"  
  
"Feh. Let's just get back and rest."  
  
They were all about to head back when one of the straggler demons (a spike demon to be exact) sprung forward and aimed directly at the wounded Sango.  
  
"For the master! Die!"  
  
Once it released its salvo of deadly spikes, time seemed to slow for everyone.  
  
Inuyasha dashed towards the spike demon and didn't even bother to draw his sword: his claws were good enough.  
  
Kagome and Sango, meanwhile, simply stared in numb shock at the five spikes that sailed toward Sango.  
  
When the spieks were about ten feet in front of Sango, Miroku moved at godlike speeds and placed himself, arms stretched wide horizontally, in front of Sango.  
  
#1 "IIEEEEEE!!"  
  
Miroku's eyes widened in pain and shock. He fell to his knees, then to all fours, then finally down on his side.  
  
"Haaaaah...Huuuuh."  
  
Everything seemed ethereal, nothing tangible. He could hear a few voices shout something that sounded like his name.  
  
"Haaaaaah...Huuuuh."  
  
As he lay on his ribs and his lifeblood seeping out of him, Miroku thought, 'Is this the end?'  
  
"Haaaaaaaaah......Huuuuuuh."  
  
'Heh. Killed by demons on a world far away from home...'  
  
"Haaaaaaaaah.........Huuuuuuuuh."  
  
'I've failed to kill Naraku and avenge my fathers and my companions. Gomen nasai, Sango, mina-san...'  
  
"Haaaaaaaaaah............Huuuuuuuuuuh." There was no more exhaling.  
  
Before he was lost to the dark oblivion, he saw a fleeting image of a crying angel... #  
  
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Mwa ha ha! The most ebil cliffhanger ever! Is Miroku dead? What happened to the Four? And who's the fifth one? Stay tuned for the next update! 


	16. Unappreciated

Disclaimers: I do NOT own Inuyasha or any of its characters.  
  
And now to end that ebil cliff hanger I put up in the last chapter! Ready folks?  
  
But first, a response to the reviewers...  
  
WildfireDreams: who said I would be killing Miroku? :P And about your element... I wouldn't know right now. It depends on your personality, really.  
  
Hayai-hakai: Cruel to my reviewers and readers? Cliffhangers are a part of drama you know :P  
  
Stephanie: Hmm, I thought Rurouni Kenshin usually appeared on adult swim...  
  
Shakujou: Thanks!  
  
Fred the Mutant Pickle: The "crying angel" was supposed to be Sango (who else is Miroku's angel?). Also, minna-san is a respectful term for "everyone". Ex: Minna-san! (Everyone!) watch out for that mutated duck!  
  
Kenshingurl516: Just have patience, the next chapter will come soon. :D  
  
Kitana-nata: Thanks!  
  
Important note: I need to make a few corrections from the last chapter.  
  
I forgot to put up a little note for that #! Thing. It was supposed to say that "IIIEEEE!" meant "NOOOO!" not some sort of shriek of fright.  
  
When it said ""There was no more exhaling," I meant to say "There was no more inhaling."  
  
Now on to the fic! #  
  
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'Oh gods,' thought Sango. 'He's dying and we can't do a thing about it!' She began trembling and hugged her knees to herself in fright.  
  
"K-Kagome-chan? Isn't there anything we can do?"  
  
"I would pull those spikes out of him if I could, but those things are the only things that are keeping him from loosing too much blood..."  
  
"Yeah," interrupted Inuyasha. "But if you keep them in there he'll still drown in his own blood."  
  
"Nani?!"  
  
"Those spikes punctured his lungs. Leave them in there too long, and he'll be a dead man."  
  
#Stare#  
  
Inuyasha felt somewhat unnerved by all the attention he was getting. After nervously fidgeting with the bandages around his stomach, he said, "What you staring at, wench?"  
  
"Inuyasha? Where did you get such medical knowledge?" said Sango, her voice filled with awe.  
  
"Feh, my mother taught me some basics when I was a kid. You have to know how to heal yourself when everyone's out for your blood, you know."  
  
"Then why didn't you ever help us whenever someone was injured?" piped up Kagome.  
  
"'Cuz you guys wouldn't let me in and help, baka."  
  
"Hey! You take that back!"  
  
"Make me!"  
  
"Osuwa-"  
  
"Inuyasha!" interrupted Sango. "So is there anything we can do?"  
  
"Iie. Lung wounds are impossible to heal unless you can somehow repair the damaged flesh. This is why people with punctured lungs are left to die nowdays."  
  
But Sango stopped paying attention after the words "Repair the damaged flesh"...  
  
Suddenly, she sprang up and cried, "That's it!" The others simply looked at her with perplexed faces.  
  
"When I was fighting Jishin, he told me that the reason he could regenerate lost limbs was because the Earth has the power to regenerate the flesh. Inuyasha, if we can pull the spikes out of Miroku, and then quickly patch up his lungs, we can save him, right?"  
  
"I-I guess so..."  
  
"Alright then! Let's get to work!"  
  
After everyone had gotten the supplies they would need, Sango silently prayed, 'I just hope this works...'  
  
-Much later-  
  
"Whew, looks like he'll be fine for the night. We should let him sleep it off for a few days."  
  
Very luckily, Sango's idea had worked: after quickly removing the spikes, she used her powers and sealed any and all wounds (and proceeded to do so with everyone else's injuries). Now it was time for some Rest and Relaxation in an artificial spring: Sango reminded herself to thank Kagome.  
  
-In the spring-  
  
The warm, gurgling spring water did wonders to the girls' bodies and minds as they relaxed and began chatting about girl things. Soon, the conversation drifted off to different things like...  
  
"You know, if there's one good thing about this place, it's that Kouga's not around. Gosh, I hate that annoying stalker!"  
  
She just happened to say this within Inuyasha's hearing range (he was resting in the branches of a tree nearby to guard the ladies). 'Score one for the Inu master!' he thought with a large grin.  
  
Then the conversation moved on to...  
  
"#sigh# You know what, Sango-chan? I sometimes wish that baka Inuyasha" (Inuyasha's eyebrows began quivering at this point) "would stop singing in his sleep."  
  
This one took Inuyasha completely off guard. 'I...sing in my sleep?!'  
  
Kagome continued, "I mean, it's great that he likes music that much, but he sounds like he's drunk when he sings!" By now, Inuyasha's claws were starting to tremble.  
  
'I sound like a drunkard?! What the hell?'  
  
The conversation eventually drifted off from drunken singing to...  
  
"Wow, now that I got over with Miroku almost dieing, that was so brave and heroic of him to jump in front of you like that!" squealed Kagome. Obviously, Miroku's antics had reminding her of all those movies where a guy takes a bullet for his girlfriends/wife/lover (who he had gotten laid after only meeting for five minutes).  
  
Sango made a sly grin and asked, "Oh? So now you're ditching Inuyasha for my man?" She slapped Kagome on the shoulder in mock anger. "Kagome! How could you!"  
  
But Kagome didn't hang around the top gossip queens in her school and learn nothing. "So Miroku-sama's 'your man' now, huh Sango-chan?" she countered.  
  
"Hey!"  
  
They both laughed merrily and began fantasizing about their men to themselves.  
  
'Now that she mentions it,' thought Sango, 'That was so brave of him to save me like that.' She giggled to herself. 'It reminds me of those myths I used to hear about the courageous samurai who would do anything to save their women.' She smiled and looked up to the sky.  
  
'Oh Miroku...my one and only samurai...'  
  
-Meanwhile, at Akuma's place-  
  
"YOU IDIOTS! NITWITS! STUPID-WORTHLESS-FOOLS!!!" The hoarse shouts reverberated throughout the cavern as Akuma vented his spleen upon his hapless (and badly injured) minions.  
  
"I CREATED YOU TO BE PERFECT! YOUR ENEMIES WERE MERE MORTALS! THEY WERE WEAK! YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE FLAWLESS!!!"  
  
"HOW-IN-THE-SEVEN-HELLS-DID-YOU-LOSE?!?!?!" he screamed, punctuating each word with a stomp.  
  
The four demons merely blinked and attempted to unruffled their hair (which was blown around by the force of Akuma's voice).  
  
"AND NOT ONLY THAT, YOU DIDN'T EVEN MANGAGE TO KILL ANY OF THEM!"  
  
"But master," Shougan interrupted, "Our spies have reported that the monk was killed-"  
  
"Silence! I would know if that monk was slain or not!" he gave another frustrated #sigh#, then began pacing around the room. "Alright, I'll give you idiots one more chance."  
  
"Go with my army and escort your fifth brother. Let him fight first. If he fails, all of you attack WITH the army. And don't bother coming back here in failure." He said the last part with his voice dripping with menace.  
  
"Remember, I created you. I can easily find another use for you should you become worthless...for example, I could simply assimilate you into my body to make myself stronger. Now go!!"  
  
-Back to the spring-  
  
Somehow, the conversation between the girls ended up at this:  
  
"Kagome-cha?"  
  
"Hai?"  
  
"Demo...sorry if I sound nosy but, have you and Inuyasha ever kissed?"  
  
At first, Kagome simply blushed furiously fidgeted nervously. But soon she gathered her courage and said, "Hai."  
  
Sango gasped and with eyes wide as dinner plates, she asked, "Honto?! When?"  
  
"Umm, I think it was about a month ago..."  
  
And so Kagome began describing her "experience" to Sango.  
  
"...and then our lips met, it just so great!" At this, Sango began squealing.  
  
Too loud...  
  
Most unfortunately, Inuyasha interpreted this squeal as a scream of fright. So he leaped out of the tree, shouted "Kagome!", and rushed up to the spring where Sango and Kagome just happened to be stading waist high in the water, nothing covering them.  
  
"HENTAAAAIIIII!!!!!!"  
  
-At Miroku's bed-  
  
Miroku suddenly opened his eyes and lifted his head with frightening speed. "Did someone say my name?" he asked no one. Then as fast as he woke up, he fell back down to the bed and was out like a light.  
  
-Back to the spring-  
  
"INUYASHA NO BAKA! OSUWARI! OSUWARI! OSUWARI! OSUWARI!..."  
  
#Crash# #Crash# #Crash# #Crash# #Crash#  
  
After a few minutes of doing this (in which Sango and Kagome clothed themselves), Kagome decided that Inuyasha had enough punishment and stopped sitting him.  
  
"#sigh# Inuyasha, I hoped you learned your lesson."  
  
"Yeah, I did," said a muffled voice from beneath the ground. "It's that some people never appreciate it when someone else dashes in to save her when he thinks she's in trouble." He picked himself off the ground and sadly turned away.  
  
Guilt eating at her heart, Kagome cried, "Yamero, Inuyasha!" But he didn't stop.  
  
"Gomen, Kagome," he muttered as he disappeared into the undergrowth.  
  
"I-Inuyasha..."   
  
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So! Will Inuyasha forgive Kagome? Stay tuned folks! 


	17. The Merging

Disclaimers: I do NOT own Inuyasha or any of its characters.  
  
Greetings! We're back with an update!  
  
Fred the Mutant Pickle: Yes, fear the mutant ducks! Flee! Flee for your lives!  
  
...  
  
err, just pretend I never said that... anyways, Akuma is the master/creator of the Five (see chapter 12). So it appears that someone has snuck in during your sleep and caused you to have amnesia. :P  
  
Stephanie: Thanks! And I'll see if I can find out what time RK plays.  
  
Hayai-hakai: Yes, cliff hangers are the devil...but what would a fic be without them? Bwa ha ha!  
  
Shakujou: Yes, poor underappreciated Inuyasha... anyways, cool update on your fic! Naraku's finally dead! #breaks out into a song# Ding Dong the witch is dead!...  
  
I guess you guys really didn't need to hear that. O.o;;  
  
The Chibi Eskimo: Hey Rachel! Long time no see! Camp was great, I learned the joys of debate and stuff (my partner and I got the highest record in our newbie lab! W00t). Anyways, you like angst? The sequel for this (yes, there's a sequel-no, it's not going to contain as much action or elemental stuff, sorry...) will have much angst! Have fun with your future fics!  
  
Kitana-nata: The "..." after the 4th Osuwari meant that there were more, but me being the lazy idiot I am, decided not to put any more Osuwaris.  
  
Kaylana: Hey! Long time no see! Glad to see you again.  
  
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Kagome jogged through the entangle forest, her eyes and ears keen for any sign of the missing hanyou.  
  
'Kuso, where could he have gone? He didn't seem to have left the spring that fast...'  
  
#Huff# #Huff#  
  
"Inuyasha! Where are you? Answer me! Inuyasha?!" Her screams rebounded off of the dense foliage, effectively muting her worried voice from the world...  
  
The entire world, that is, except one hanyou. But would he answer the call?  
  
"Inuyasha-there you are! I was looking all over for you!" She had stumbled through a clearing where the lonely hanyou sat, his amber eyes gazing across the river.  
  
"Inuyasha? Why did you leave?" said Kagome. She was about to sit down beside him when he angrily responded,  
  
"You know what I'm talking about wench!"  
  
"About what, Inuyasha?"  
  
Giving out a growl of frustration, he grumbled out, "About how I dashed in all worried about you and all I got for it was a bunch of sittings."  
  
"I appreciate that you're worried about me, but peeking on me like that still deserves a good sit you know!"  
  
"Keh, it's not like I haven't seen you naked before or anything." At this point, Kagome turned beet red and was about to berate Inuyasha again when he continued, "And couldn't you at least consider the fact that I dashed in for your own safety? At least Kikyou had enough heart thank me for times like this."  
  
Perhaps Inuyasha should have kept his mouth shut about Kikyou, for his ear- shattering response was...  
  
"Kikyou, huh? It's always Kikyou, Kikyou, Kikyou! I'm sick of you talking about her all the time and comparing her to me! She's dead already! Don't you get it?! SHE'S DEAD!! And not enough heart, huh?! Who's the one who sacrificed her personal life for this romp through Japan?! Who's the one who put a burden on her family's finances by buying all those medical supplies?! Who's the one who risked her life for you more than she could count?! Who's the one who awakened you from that fifty year sleep?! Huh?! HUH?!"  
  
Usually, Inuyasha would have simply stared back in shock and would have attempted to apologize. But this time, he was far too angry to feel remorse.  
  
"And who's the one who saved your neck dozens of times?! Who brought you back from the time the baby possessed you?! Who sacrificed his time waiting on you to return from that stupid place?!"  
  
"Don't call my home and family stupid! And I have my own life to get on with! I can't completely forget about my own time you brainless half- breed!"  
  
"You know why I keep telling you to hurry up, huh?! I got two reasons! One, at the time, I was afraid that Miroku would get sucked into his void! I wanted to kill off Naraku before that happened! Two, think about what would happen if Naraku got his filthy hands on the jewel! There wouldn't be a future for you! You wouldn't have a school to go to! You wouldn't have a family to return to! Hell, you might not even be alive! So STOP SCREAMING AT ME ABOUT HOW I KEEP YOU AWAY FROM HOME AND UNDERAPRRECIATING ME BEFORE YOU KNOW THE ACTUAL REASONS!!!" It seemed that he was too angry to even curse at her.  
  
Panting slightly, he stood up and looked straight into Kagome's horrified eyes, then muttered coldly, "Now little miss, 'I'm always right about everything I do,' I have some resting to do." He stumped back to camp.  
  
For a long moment, all Kagome could do was stare at the large dent in the underbrush that Inuyasha had left.  
  
'I never thought Inuyasha could say something like that, but...he's right.' She started sobbing into her hands and looked into the reflections on the calm river.  
  
'Have I really been that selfish?' she thought as she took another #sniff#. 'Now that I think about it, it really WAS my fault that Miroku-sama got sucked into his own Kazanaa, and I guess I shouldn't have sat him so much at the spring, he was only trying to protect me...' She gave a heaving sigh and wiped the last of the tears from her eyes.  
  
'I'm a terrible person, aren't I, Inuyasha?'  
  
-Akuma's Lair-  
  
The lagoon echoed the dripping sounds of the stalactites as Akuma paced around the spacious cavern.  
  
'Grr, I hope those fools don't accidentally spoil my plans due to their stupidity! I spend hours on their creation to make them perfect and what do I end up with?! A bunch of drooling idiots!'  
  
After a few more minutes of pacing, he suddenly detected a presence.  
  
"Hmm? Who dares enter my sanctum?"  
  
Only silence was his answer.  
  
"I can feel your presence, intruder." His hand began to glow in a concentration of energy. "And I will tell you now that you will not easily defeat me." He released the ball of energy he was holding and a dozen demons sprang forth immediately.  
  
"Come forth!"  
  
"Come forth? You already see me, Akuma the Overseer."  
  
Akuma looked up, down, and all around, but he couldn't find any trace of the intruder, only his black aura. Then suddenly, he noticed that the shadows beneath his minions' feet were wavering, and then growing...  
  
"Hmm, I see that you control the powers of the Dark. Now Show yourself!"  
  
"As you wish."  
  
The shadows abruptly spread like a ripple in a pond, rose up, and then consumed Akuma's minions in a cloak of darkness. Only a few muffled wails echoing off the walls marked the deaths of the fiends.  
  
The blob of darkness then spoke, "I only wish to form an alliance. As you may know, a hanyou and his companions are running about on this world. So far, your minions have failed to capture or kill them. I can help you."  
  
"Oh? How so then?"  
  
"I have two deals. The first is that we work together, side by side. A truce, if you would call it. I will provide my Dark powers for reconnaissance and other purposes. You will use your minions to destroy Inuyasha's pack for good."  
  
"Mhmm. And the second choice?"  
  
"This." Before Akuma could react, the shadow's...'tentacle' shot forward and closed around Akuma's mouth.  
  
As the struggling Akuma tried to summon more minions, the shadow simply chuckled at his vain efforts and said, "The second choice, is that you will become a part of me. I will have all your powers and memories. In turn, you will be my loyal slave, as you will be a part of my body. But don't worry, this won't hurt...much."  
  
Akuma gave one last scream of terror before the shadow completely consumed him.  
  
After the 'digestion' was complete, the shadow began glowing a sickly green color, then sprouted pieces of bark all over itself. 'Hmm, ironbark,' thought the shadow. 'This will serve me well as armor.'  
  
The shadow continued to change until it had a humanoid form, and a sinister head that had long, black, flowing hair and crimson eyes.  
  
"Heh," sneered the demon. "You wished to create the perfect demon, didn't you Akuma? Now, feel honored that you are part of this perfect demon you helped create.  
  
"The perfect demon, Naraku."  
  
The walls of the lagoon seemed to amplify the sinister laughter that followed by a hundredfold.  
  
-The gang's camp-  
  
All was quiet in the entrance of the cave where everyone except Inuyasha slept peacefully.  
  
After the little "chat" with Kagome, Inuyasha wondered if Kagome truly deserved his tongue lashing. 'She was just confused and didn't realize what she did. Should I have yelled at her like that? And made her cry?' He leaned back on the cool walls of the cave and stared at a stone that lay on the ground.  
  
Then he heard light footsteps. 'Oh shoot, is that Kagome?' he panicked. 'Kuso, I'm not ready to talk to her yet!' He was coming up with a brilliant escape plan when Kagome stepped in.  
  
"Inuyasha?" she called softly. Inuyasha gulped and muttered, "Yeah?"  
  
She sat down beside him, her flowing hair brushing his shoulder. "Gomen, for being such a...little miss, 'I'm always right about everything I do'." She gave him a sad smile.  
  
"Umm, listen, Kagome. I guess I shouldn't have yelled at you like that-"  
  
"Shh, it's alright. Really." After a few moments, she continued, "You know, you're right. I guess I really was underappreciating you., and gomen." She leaned against him and closed her eyes.  
  
By now, Inuasya was blushing furiously and tried his very best not to squirm and awaken Kagome (she had a tendency to be extremely violent in the mornings). He slowly leaned backwards and tried to fall asleep.  
  
The last thing that filled his senses before he was caressed by darkness was Kagome's scent. 'Mmm,' he thought. 'She smells exactly like a strawberry during harvesting time...' #  
  
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Ugh, this one was hard to write. This was my first Inuyasha/Kagome thing I've written, so please don't flame me! 


	18. Misguided Light

Disclaimers: I do NOT own Inuyasha or any of its characters.

Hey folks! I'm back! And it appears that I'm an year older now! W00t!

WildfireDreams: Don't sweat it. Just read a lot of fanfiction here and you'll quickly catch onto how the characters are supposed to be like.

K-chan9: ...SAY THAT I LOVE THAT EVIL PILLOW ONCE MORE AND I WILL STALK YOU, FIND OUT WHERE YOU LIVE, AND THEN TORUTRE YOU WITH VARIOUS DEVICES!!!

Just kidding...but seriously, I HATE THAT PILLOW!!

Kaylana: Aww, you don't like poor little Inuyasha? Oh well...to each his own.

Fred the Mutant Pickle: Woo hoo! 100 reviews! Thanks very much to all of my wonderful reviewers!

Stephanie: Ugh, I can't find out when RK goes on the air...sorry...

Hayai-hakai: Congrats! You are the 100th reviewer! #picks up Fred's confetti and chucks it around everywhere#

Shakujou: Thanks! And I can't wait until your sequel comes out!

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The air had a relaxing quality to it as the Inuyasha gang milled about, minding their own business, punctuated by the occasional:

#Grope#

"HENTAI!!!"

#Wham#

#Thud#

And don't forget the:

"Blah blah blah wench! Blah Blah Blah Wench!"

"SIT!"

#Splat#

Yep, after a few days of turmoil, life has gotten back to normal as it would ever get. Whenever they weren't training some more, they would hang out around the new camp (which was situated high on a mountain top) talking about...well, whatever people talk about when they have nothing to do.

On one of these relaxing days, Miroku decided to head over to the small library that they kept. Picking out a bunch of random scrolls, he opened them up and peered at what was inside.

'Let's see,' he thought. 'Pictures of naked women- tempting, but Sango would gut me if she caught me with these-' he proceeded to place them back into the shelf. 'Hmm, history of the void, already know that... a scroll full of basic spells, already know them...information on the Seven Spells of Heaven and Hell? Interesting...' he picked up the before mentioned scroll took a closer look at it.

The ancient scroll read;

"Upon this scroll is inscribed the Seven Spells of Heaven and Hell. No mortal should lay eyes on this parchment." 'Well, too late for that,' mused Miroku.

"The Wrath, the Fury, the Tears, the Breath, the Eye, the Shadow, and the Creation of the gods will bring ultimate destruction to this desolate world: Only the Jutsu no Ougi can overshadow the powers of the gods."

'The powers of the gods... I can't imagine wielding destructive capabilities like that,' thought Miroku. Just then, Inuyasha's voice called out to him.

"Oi! Bouzo! Get out here! Something's coming!"

Giving a small sigh, the monk replaced the scroll and trudged out to the entrance.

"What is it, Inuyasha?"

"Look out over to the west and tell me what you see."

Miroku peered far into that direction. What greeted his eyes was an enormous army youkai, bearing down on their position.

"Kuso...is there anything we can do?"

"Nope. They're too fast for us to outrun, and they'll catch us sooner or later anyway. We might as well stand and fight."

"#Sigh# I was afraid so... we better tell everyone else."

And so battle preparations were made. By time they were done, the army had reached the base of the mountain and was awaiting orders. When the girls first saw the sheer mass of bodies that they had to face...

"Nani?!...Kami, there must be thousands of them..."

And thousands there were. Hundreds upon hundreds of demon squadrons, all arranged neatly in tight formations, stood silently like stone guardians.

The frontlines consisted of blade demons and several gigantic, bull-like demons carrying huge platforms on their backs. Each platform was brimming with eager imps holding bows and arrows.

The back lines were crawling with spike demons and another type of blob-like demon that looked very much like a sack with a funnel sticking out at the sack opening. Artillery demons, obviously.

The rest of the army was made up of thousands of imps carrying flimsy weapons and winged demons hovering over the same spot.

And at the very back...the Four, along with a glowing figure that the Inuyasha gang did not recognize.

Everyone of them stood stock still, as if they were waiting for oblivion to arrive.

"Looks like they've surrounded the mountain." said Miroshin.

"So no escape?" asked Sango.

"Hai. No escape. The only way out is to fight."

"But how are we to fight against an army that big?"

"Well...we could always make our own army, right?"

Everyone stared at Kagome. Feeling a little uncomfortable, she continued, "Well, can't you guys create your own servants? I mean, Sango-chan made a golem in our first battle, hai?"

"She's right... I DID make a golem that fight..."

"So why don't we make our own?"

"Do we know how?"

"Got any other ideas?"

"Well...no..."

"Thought so."

"Everyone, take a moment to meditate, then start summoning."

And so they did.

-Back with the Four-

"So, Shougan...are we just going to sit here and do nothing?"

"Precisely," spoke the blue demon with a smirk. "I want them to make the first move. Currently, I'm guessing that they're going to charge directly at us with summoned creatures-"

-Back to Kagome-

"Ok, once Sango charges with her summoned golems-"

-Back to Shougan-

"They're going to have some of them attack our flank-"

-Back to Kagome-

"Inuyasha and I will split and attack their flank-"

-Back to Shougan-

"And the rest of them is going to perform a mop-up maneuver-"

-Back to Kagome-

"And Miroku-sama, Miroshin-sama and Mirosuke-sama will perform a mop-up maneuver. Everyone got that?"

"Hai!"

"Oi, Kagome, where'd you learn about military strategy?"

"Oh, I used to watch Sota play a lot of strategy games, so I got a basic grasp of strategy."

Inuyasha nearly did a face plant. 'She learned strategy from that video game crap? Oh Kami help us...'

-Back to Shougan-

"Everyone got that?"

"Hai. But how did you come up with all of this?"

"Err...no clue..."

Everyone except Shougan and Nisshou sweat dropped.

-Back to Kagome-

"Well guys, this is it. You got the plan right?"

"Hai," chorused everyone.

"Then in that case...MINNA-SAN! SHUUGEKI!!"

The warcries erupted from the charging group as they thundered down the mountain.

-Shougan's camp-

Shougan watched it all from the safety of his camp, his cold blue eyes watching every move the attackers made.

'So it begins...'

-Back to the battle-

Sango paced her charge with the lumbering stone golems as they plowed into the youkai army, the demonic bodies flying left and right. Artillery began thundering down as the huge blobs swelled with acid and let out a blast. Not to mention it literally rained spikes as the spike demons opened fire...

'We need to take out those ranged attackers fast... and the only way to do that is to get to them quickly...'

"Daichi. Ishi. Dekai. Zenpou. Crushing Boulder!" A colossal boulder came out of nowhere and rolled forward, crushing everything in its path and leaving a wide road that exposed the ranged attackers.

"Everyone, forward!!"

-Inuyasha's battle-

Inuyasha cruised on his flaming dog-spirit as would a surfer to his surfboard. When Sango crashed through the front lines, he and Kagome split up; him taking the left and her taking the right.

'Alright, you artificial freaks of nature...bring it on!' He bent down and slapped his tiger lightly in the side of the neck, causing it to breathe out a long column of flame. Then he began chanting, "Ho. Rai. Nami. Lightning Wave!" A crash of thunder rang throughout the battle field as a horizontal wave of lightning disentigrated the left flank of the demon army.

"WHOOO!!" crowed Inuyasha, drawing Tessaiga. "Bring it on you freaks!"

-And now to Kagome...-

After splitting up with Inuyasha, Kagome rode on the back of her ice cat and decided to do a little disorienting...

"Mizu. Meimu.Genzou. Hallucination!" Six more Kagomes, all of them looking exactly alike, appeared out of nowhere and began running amok. Not sure of which girl to target, they didn't see the spell coming at them until it was too late...

The Ice Arrow crashed through the enemy lines like a needle through hot butter, freezing and shattering enemies upon contact. A full two dozen were wiped out, but hundreds more took their place.

'Ugh, this isn't good...' she thought. 'At this rate, we'll tire out by the time we reach the Four.' Fortunately, Miroku just arrived with reinforcements.

"Kaze. Doku. Sui. Corrosive Miasma!" The cloud of miasma billowed out, disintegrating hundreds of demons. The rest of the group took this opportunity to catch a breather and prepare another spell.

Sango was the first to act. Targeting the ranged attackers, she chanted, "Daichi. Ten. Ishi. Shikkyaku. Kobushi. Heaven's Fist!" After a few seconds of waiting, a large chunk of rock fell down from the sky and annihilated almost all of the spike demons.

By now, about half of the demon army was destroyed due to the combined efforts of the group. Of course, they were hardly uninjured, but they had enough strength to finish the job that they started.

But suddenly, the entire army retreated.

'Nani? What's going on?" asked Inuyasha.

The Four had arrived, along with that strange glowing figure. Looking at it a little bit closer, it turned out that the figure was dressed in full monk garb, complete with a staff and a wide straw hat and mouth bandana that completely covered his features.

"Greetings again, Inuyasha," called out Shougan, an arrogant look on his face.

Before Shougan could continue, Inuyasha shot back, "Back for another beating, Shougan? I bet your little 'master' got pretty pissed at you for running back home with your tail between your legs!" Apparently, that memory struck a nerve.

"Silence, filthy half-breed! Anyways, we are not here to fight you. But HE," -at this he jerked his thumb to the glowing figure- "Will. Now be good little children and have fun!" he cackled. The Four then stepped back and created a near-impenetrable barrier, allowing no one to enter or escape.

"Nisshou," started Shougan. "These demons are here to corrupt the land. Purify them."

"Hai, my lord," responded the misguided monk. Nisshou turned to the Inuyasha gang and declared, "Foul demons! You dare putrefy this land with your evil deeds? I will surely purify you here and now!" The monk suddenly shot out a pillar of light from his hand, directly at Miroku.

Miroku tried to dodge, but try as he might he failed to prevent the beam from disintegrating his left hand.

"AAArgh!!" he screamed in agony.

"Yamero!" shouted Kagome. It figured she would be the one to take a diplomatic approach. "Excuse me, but we're not demons! Even you can plainly see that-"

She was cut off by Nissho, who shouted back "Silence beast! I can feel your jaki radiating off of you! So be quiet and die!" He lunged at Kagome, who just barely dodged and careened into Inuyasha.

This was going to be a tough battle...

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Heh, sorry about the long update wait. R & R!


	19. Heaven's Breath, Hell's Shadow

Disclaimers: I do NOT own Inuyasha or any of its characters.

Hello folks! Now for a continuation of the previous battle at hand…

But before we do, here's a response to the reviewers:

Fred the Mutant Pickle: You know, funny you should say that… I actually DID get my inspiration for the battle from the Battle of Pelennor Fields. O.o And I can't wait to see the next chapter for your fic Fate!

Shakujou: Thanks! And good luck with your sequel!

k-chan9: Hmm…maybe Kat should try out for the cheerleading team… heh…

Hayai-hakai: Updating!

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When Inuyasha and the gang fought the Four, they thought that the elemental youkais were as tough as they got. That little belief ended after the first five seconds of conflict between them and the demon/monk of Light, Nisshou.

He possessed speed: they could hardly catch up to his blinding agility and his lightning fast attacks.

He possessed technique: every time he seemed to be struck down he would land flawlessly on his feet. When they tried to defend against him, he would quickly find a weak spot in their defense and pummel them for their mistake.

He possessed perception: whenever a strategy was used against him, he would quickly see right through it and develop a counter-strategy.

And above all, he possessed a VERY annoying mouth. Everytime he struck one of them down he would taunt his opposition with something along the lines of, "Foolish demon! You could never defeat me!" or "Filthy beast! The light will not bow to the likes of you!" or something cheesy like that. This easily got on Inuyasha's nerves, and soon the battle became not of weapons, but of words (which will not be expounded upon due to the use of colorful language on Inuyasha's part).

Fortunately, this lull in the fighting gave Miroku and Sango an opportunity to heal the missing hand (although the pair were fairly disgusted when a fresh new hand popped out of the stump abruptly). Sprinting back into the returning action, they readied themselves for combat.

Chuckling darkly to himself, Shougan began musing while the gang put up a desperate fight against Nisshou.

'Pathetic fools! They can't hope to defeat Nisshou! Not at this rate anyway. And even if they manage to win by a lucky fluke, they still have us to fight, then afterwards, the rest of our army. Those fools are doomed. Ha ha ha!'

"Ha! You don't have a chance Inuyasha! Just give up now and we'll make sure you'll get a swift death."

"Shut up!"

"You thought a hanyou like you could defeat us? The first victory was merely a fluke-"

"I said SHUT UP!!" Finally loosing his temper, Inuyasha sent a wall of fire straight at Shougan, who dodged it by a hair's breadth.

'Whew, better not try anything like that again...' he thought. He landed softly and continued to watch the struggle.

By now, Nisshou was finally beginning to show some fatigue; however, considering that everyone else was completely exhausted, it wasn't too much of a progress. So in an act of desperation, Inuyasha tried one last idea.

"Immolate!"

Instantaneously, Inuyasha burst into white hot flames that began to turn the very ground beneath him red with heat. Grinning at the surprised look on Nisshou's face, he charged forward and began attacking with his claws.

'If I can keep him close enough, I might be able to burn him up like one of Sango's meat dishes!' he thought.

And somewhere behind him, Sango abruptly sneezed. 'Did someone just insult me?' she pondered.

-Wherever Naraku is-

The dark shadow that was Naraku slid like a wraith among the rocks, keeping in mind to not be detected. He watched the insuing battle below with a hawk's eye, noting every move that everyone made.

'Heh heh heh... so the rest of the five Elemental Youkai are here. Perfect.'

He lied in wait, chuckling darkly to himself.

-Back to the Battle-

Sango was utterly spent. Despite the fact that all she really did was block and retreat (and pray desperately that Miroku, Kagome or Inuyasha would manage to sneak a blow in), she felt like she was going to collapse sometime soon. She felt her concentration slipping and was awarded by a harsh, flesh-tearing blow to the shoulder.

"Sango!" Miroku dashed towards Nishou and tried to fend him off from Sango.

"Inuyasha!" he cried. "Get Sango out of there!"

"I'm on it!"

He ran over to Sango, picked her up bridal style (which normally would have made her protest), and hopped over to a save haven, putting her to rest against a rock.

"Oi, daijoubu?"

"H-hai, arigato."

They stopped to catch their breath for a few seconds as Miroku fought bravely against Nisshou and Kagome fretfully tried to decide whether to shoot arrows or cast a spell.

"We need to think up of a plan."

"Keh. That's what we've been trying to do."

"Hai, but we need something unorthodox..."

Perplexed, he asked, "Like what?"

"We need to implement everyone in this... I got it!" She sprang up from the ground at a speed that shocked even Inuyasha. She whispered into his ear the ingenious plan she just came up with.

After a few seconds of thought digestion, he brightened up, gave Sango a grin and said, "Heh, I like the way you think! Go tell Kagome, I'll try to relieve Miroku."

And so the plan was set forth.

-Naraku's hiding spot-

'Yes...' he thought. 'They're almost there...'

-Back to the Battle-

As soon as Miroku caught a breather, the plan was set in motion. The first part was...

"Inuyasha! Jump!"

He hopped high into the air, smirking at the grounded monk below him. "Go!" he shouted.

Kagome concentrated her energy into one little ball and ejected it from her hand like a bullet. The little marble of ice sped towards Nisshou's feet and exploded, spreading like a ripple in a pond and adding a frozen layer of ice on the ground.

Knowing that he didn't have a chance of the ground due to the lack of traction, Nisshou did what he thought was the best choice: jump.

Too bad that choice was also a predictable one.

Miroku concentrated on the air particles surrounding the airborne monk and forced them to dance around Nissou, suspending him up in the air.

"Sango! Your turn!"

"Alright! Daichi. Hana. Kongou. Diamond Edge!" Adding a deadly, cut-through-anything diamond edge to Hiraikotsu, she aimed carefully and threw it with all her might.

The boomerang spun towards its target, which at the moment was occupied in the act of getting- the-heck-out-before-it-got-sliced.

20 meters to impact...

10 meters...

5...

3...

2...

1...

#Shlick# The sound of flesh being sliced gnashed through the air as Hiraikotsu happily cut through Nisshou's torso, leaving the misguided Justicar in two neat parts.

"Woo hoo! You did it Sango-chan- eww, somebody needs to clean that up..." said Kagome, beginning to show signs of going green.

The Four could only watch in shocked silence the powerful Nisshou lay sliced in half at their feet.

"T-they beat N-Nisshou..."

"Sugoi..."

"Not possible!"

Silence rended the air, the entire battlefield going silent (including Miroshin, Mirosuke, and the rest of the demons).

One of the Five...was actually dead.

After a few more moments of silence, the first to move was Jigoku.

"Kisama... you worthless ningens... VENGEANCE!" The last part was screamed out, fiery spittle flying about. "WE WILL NOT BE INSULTED BY THIS! KILL THEEEEEM!!!" Rage contorting their faces (all except Jishin of course), they charged blindly.

'Kuso, they're mad, and we're not up for another bout,' thought Miroku. The scroll he had read earlier came to mind.

'The Wrath, the Fury, the Tears, the Breath, the Eye, the Shadow, and the Creation of the gods will bring ultimate destruction to this desolate world...'

'Yes... that's the only way... but how to conjure it?'

The sight of three extremely angry demons and one stolid one spurred him on to think faster.

'Come on, come on...'

If he didn't act fast, they would all be killed.

'Kuso, Miroku! Hurry up damn it!'

In an act of complete desperation, he stretched out his hand...

And everything went haywire from there.

The first thing that seemed to happen was that Miroku shouted, "Jutsu no Kami! Heaven's Breath!"

Afterwards, a strong wind blew down towards the charging demons, which hardly slowed them down. What happened next did.

A flurry of gigantic blades rained down upon them like a locust swarm. Earth and rocks flew everywhere as hundreds and hundreds of blades rained mercilessly on the hapless demons. The screams of both the demons and the humans were drowned out by the roaring of the wind. Then, as quickly as it had started, it was over.

What was left wasn't very pretty.

The ragged forms of the once proud Four lay on the ground, cuts and gashes mutilating the bodies almost beyond recognition. At the sight of the violence, Kagome turned even greener.

"Eww...I think I'm going to puke..."

Even Inuyasha was fazed by the sight of the gore.

Miroku's sigh of relief and exhaustion broke everyone out of their trance. "Minna-san, let's head back." He turned to watch the rest of the demon army flee.

Then something peculiar caught his eye...

He stared at the suspicious shadow that was beneath the corpses of the Five. The blob seemed to become darker and more solid...

"What the..."

Without warning, the dark shadow sprang forth from the ground and consumed the five corpses. After taking a few moments to "digest" the meal, turned towards Inuyasha and spoke in a maddeningly familiar voice, "Oh, Inuyasha. How nice to see you here..."

After taking a minutes to remember who's voice that was, he answered, "Naraku?"

His reply was, "Heh heh heh, how kind of you to remember me after all this time here."

By now, the changes in the once shadow-like body became obvious. The shadow grew into a spherical shape with a vaguely humanoid upper torso and arms inside and energy crackling all around. An eerie light lit up from inside the core and gave the being a slightly glowing look.

Inuyasha didn't even have to think. "Die you b######!" He swung Tessaiga with all his might at Naraku, but was deflected like a fly off of a shoulder.

"Is that all you can muster, Inuyasha? Heh heh heh."

He raised his ethereal-like arms into the sky and proclaimed, "I am the Light. I am the Darkness. I am the Inferno, the Torrent, the Gale, the Roots of the Mountains. I am Life, I am Death.

"I am Invincible."

He threw his head back and laughed, a sound that seemed to multiply itself over a hundredfold as the laughter continued. After a few minutes, the cacophony stopped.

"I'll leave you to your own devices for now, Inuyasha. It's not much fun trying to kill an opponent who's that badly injured now, is it?"

"Kisama... what did you do?"

"Oh, nothing too complicated, Sango my dear. I just absorbed those five demons into me that's all. And before I forget to tell you, I can now control the seven elements of this world. There is absolutely no way you can defeat me now." He arrogantly turned around and glided away.

"Nani?! Get back here you-"

"Inuyasha, calm down," spoke Miroku. "We really do need to rest. Sango's got a nasty cut and my hand still needs to recouperate."

"Alright then. Let's head back."

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Naraku is ultra-uber now! What will the Inu gang do? #Cue dramatic music#


	20. Down Memory Lane

Disclaimers: I do NOT own Inuyasha or any of its characters.

Ugh, writer's block...I can never figure out how to follow up well after a big fight...

Fred the Mutant Pickle: Yeah, I hate it when critical links in sites go down like that...frustrating... And the Five had to die sometime, I couldn't keep them forever. :P

Shakujou: Thanks!

Sesshomaru4eva203: Thanks, and don't worry, Fluffy will be here probably in my other stories (so read them!! 8-) )

BombermanFantastic: You saw that one coming? Am I getting that predictable? :( Oh well...

Perfalmarin: Heh, thanks! :D

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In the shadows he lay, brooding over what course of action would be best to defeat Inuyasha and his companions.

He knew that his new body was powerful enough to crush Inuyasha effortlessly... but this body, like all the other bodies he possessed, needed time to get used to.

Completely controlling a body wasn't an easy or short process: it requires much patience, power, control, and guile to break the spirits that control the body and dominate it utterly. It was very much like attempting to capture an enemy castle without damaging any of the facilities or structures, a feat that is impossible to accomplish with brute force alone.

And so Naraku would wait until the maddening cries of the souls within him would quiet down and submit to his invincible will...

His will for power: The one thing that drove him to murder innocents, toy with people's lives, and sow the seeds of hatred and destruction. The sole purpose for his living and torturing. The only reason that he even bothered to exist.

He could have willed his own destruction long ago- he could have just _thought_ of his blackened soul being severed from his body and it would have all been over in an instant. But instead, he chose to survive and bring torment to everyone.

Sometimes he questioned himself, why did he want such power?

Here was the answer...

-Flashback to Onigumo's childhood-

The villagers screamed and ran amok like ants after their hill had been wrecked by an obnoxious child armed with boulder and magnifying glass. A few of them picked up crude weapons for defense, but were cut down like grass to a mower against the charging group of samurai.

The leader, who was on horse back, shouted "Kill every last one of them and take every scrap of food!" He paused momentarily to cut down a fleeing villager with his naginata. (#1)

He chuckled harshly: no matter what they said, slaughtering helpless villagers gave him a rush. He didn't care if he was called a bloodthirsty murderer, or a butcher: he just wanted to shed blood.

And he was thankful that, as a samurai, he could slake his thirst almost anytime. But right now, he was under orders from the daimyo to wipe out this entire village and any persons inside it, whether it be man, woman, or child.

He loved this job.

"Light cavalry! Pursue all fleeing villagers and exterminate every one of them! Attack!" The spear-wielding and bow-brandishing cavalry men urged their mounts forward, the hooves of the steeds thundering on the grass.

Somewhere in the nearby forest, a small boy and his mother crashed their way into through the underbrush, sweat streaming down their bodies. Fear etched their faces as they fled from the coming death, but try as they might, they could not outrun cavalry men even in the forest. (#2)

Suddenly, the #twang# of a bow was heard, then an arrow whistled into the mother's upper leg. She crashed into the forest floor, her backpack supplies flying out and into the grass.

"O-okaa san!" he whimpered.

The mother attempted to get up, failed, and then hissed out in pain, "Run, Taiji-chan, go on without me-"

"Iie!" he shouted. "I'm not going without you momma..." He dove into the soft comfort of his mother.

The mother held her son in her arms and stroked his head while the young boy sobbed into her chest. "Go, Taiji, live for me. You must do whatever you can to survive...just don't end up like your okaa-san." She shoved him away and urged, "Hurry!"

Taiji gathered up a few of the supplies, gulped back a sob, and looked at his mother one last time. "Goodbye, momma..." He turned and fled, his tears streaming down his face along with his sweat.

"Goodbye, son..."

Taiji tried his best to ignore the screams of his mother as she was impaled upon the cold spears of the cavalry men...

Taiji kept his promise to his mother: he became Onigumo, the feared bandit, and then later Naraku. He did whatever it took to survive, his last promise his only motive.

So why did he become a bandit? Who knows. Perhaps he hated the daimyo so much that he wanted to pay them back by become a criminal. But whatever the case, the promise he made was still kept.

-Back to the present-

Naraku chuckled to himself as the memory faded back into his mind. 'Heh,' he thought. 'The one part of Onigumo I kept, other than his ability to control and use minions.'

It was quite true; Onigumo's desire to survive lived on within the demon Naraku. It came quiet handy in many situations.

'Oh ho,' quipped a different voice within him. 'So the great and powerful Naraku is essentially a half-demon?'

'Still skulking around in my mind, Akuma?' thought Naraku.

'Fine as ever.' Despite the fact that Naraku couldn't see the ex-Nature elementalist, he could still sense the smarmy, mocking grin he was receiving.

'So, Naraku,' mused Akuma. 'Now that you've wrecked my grand army and assimilated me and my five most powerful servants, what will you do next?'

'Simple,' Naraku replied. 'I will let them take the first initiative. How I react will depend on what they do.'

'Really now? I thought that your were going to hunt them down like animals once you got used to this stolen body of yours.'

Naraku narrowed his eyes in annoyance, then returned to his usual smooth manner. 'So how did you know this?'

He could imagine Akuma tapping his head knowingly. 'We share the same mind, you and I. I just know how to lock the doors. You don't.' Naraku received yet another sneer.

In response, Naraku sent a flash of pain through his own mind, directed at Akuma. The sorcerer reeled in pain, but still did not give up his smarmy attitude.

'Heh heh heh...you may control the powers of all seven elements, Naraku, but you had better watch your back... you are not safe even in your own mind.' Akuma left behind a ringing chuckle before he retreated back into his portion of the mind.

Naraku sighed to himself. Breaking into a new body was a long and difficult process indeed...especially if your "mind-mate" has a smart mouth.

-The Gang's headquarters-

Sango stepped cautiously into small storage room, peering through the dim light. She had just finished a bath, and after deciding she had some time to kill, she decided to check out the storage room.

The room was almost...homely, despite the fact that it was cluttered with strange objects of various sizes and types. After picking her way through what seemed to be tatami rice mats and a skull of a large demon, she found a large koto sitting on the ground.

'What's this doing here?' wondered Sango. But her curiosity got the better of her and she pulled the unwieldy instrument out and plopped it on the ground.

As her soft hands ran over the ancient wood of the koto, she remembered something from her old taijya village:

-Flashback to Sango's childhood-

"Sango!" called out the deep, melodic voice.

The young girl, no more than ten years old, looked up from her tumbling bout with her pet Kirara and ran to her chichi-ue.

"Hai, otou-san?"

The older man smiled gently and began unwrapping a large, rectangular object. "Now that you've become an apprentice slayer, I've decided to make you a little gift." He finished unwrapping the object and handed it to Sango. "Here. Your mother was starting to get a little irritated after you kept playing on her koto, so I decided to get one just for you."

Sango marveled at the high sheen on instrument as she inspected it as it lay on the ground. "Sugoi..." she whispered.

The strings were an alloy of iron and youkai guts, while the body itself was constructed out of sturdy yet light bird demon bones. Every bit of the instrument was polished to perfection, and when Sango experimentally struck a string, it brought forth a crystal clear note that soothed her mind.

"How do you like it, my little one?"

"Oh papa, I love it!"

-Back to the present-

Sango smiled mirthlessly as the memories flashed through her mind. 'Those were some good old times,' she thought. The beautiful koto she treasured so much was lost along with the lives of the people in the village on that horrid day...

After rummaging around for the finger picks, she found them and put them on. 'A little tight,' she thought. 'But they'll do.'

She decided to test the old instrument by playing a chord. It sounded a little dull with age and neglect, but it would do. So she set to work, playing an old melody she recalled from her childhood.

It wasn't long before she attracted some attention...

"Sango?"

She was so lost in the music that she was caught completely off guard that even Miroku's jingling staff hadn't alerted her until his voice did.

"Err, umm, h-hai, houhsi-sama?" she squeaked. Miroku limped slightly to her postion and sat down beside her.

"My, that was a charming tune you were playing koi. Care to tell me where you got it?"

She stiffened up a little bit and said blankly, "My old taijya village. It was my mother's favorite song." Miroku decided it was best to leave this subject untouched.

"Gomen Sango. Could you continue playing, onegai? They say that music is calming to the soul...and in my case, my wounds. Your method of treatment makes healers in our world look like mere laymen, but my cuts are still a little bit sore..."

Sango grinned foxily at Miroku and said slyly, "Then would you like for me to rub them for you, houshi-sama?"

She couldn't help but crack up when Miroku looked more than a little shaken up by the comment. "Just a little joke houshi-sama; I'm not a sukebe like you." The last part was said with a teasing wink.

The monk replied with mock defeat, "#Sigh#, and to think I've actually begun to rub off on you..." He shook his head with false sadness and motioned for her to continue to keep playing.

The graceful tunes that Sango plucked out reminded Miroku of something from his past...

-Flashback to Miroku's childhood-

The (incredibly ugly) geishas danced clumsily around the three men as they tried their best to get the best out of seemingly ill-spent (and ripped off) money...

Which was all but impossible, seeing that these geishas were extremely desperate and were much more... suggestive...than all the other geishas that were invited to the temple.

Miroku was only six then, at a time when his father was still alive and he was pretty much a content boy. Not one-hundred percent happy, mind you, but content as you could get.

But back to the fat, clumsy geishas...

One of them was obviously drunk and made a move for the chibi Miroku, who could only stare in horror as the disfigured face descended down toward him making disgusting kissing noises.

"Chichi-ue! HELP!!!"

-End flashback-

He shuddered involuntarily. Ok, maybe Sango's tune didn't remind him of _that_ horrifying time. But he did enjoy her wonderful playing. Soon, the darkness of sleep took him over to the Happy Hunting Grounds (where dozens of women looking very familiar to a certain taijya pranced about in the meadows).

Seeing that the monk had gone off to sleep, Sango stopped playing and looked upon Miroku's sleeping face.

'You know...he looks really cute in his sleep...' she blushed at her own thoughts. Maybe Miroku really _was_ rubbing off of her. But in either case, she decided that now would be a good time to sleep.

"Good night...Miroku."

"Mmm, Sango..." came the sleepy reply. At this point, Sango determined that it was better for her to leave quickly before her head exploded from the amount of blood rushing in.

She gave the sleeping houshi one last look before she went off to her futon.

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So? How was this one? R&R!!!


	21. Lost to the Darkness

Disclaimers: I do NOT own Inuyasha or any of its characters.

Alright, there seems to be some confusion on what gender I am.

I am a boy. Yes, a 15 year old boy who writes fanfiction (ask The Chibi Eskimo, Alawen of Mirkwood/Wandering Namekian, or K-chan9 for proof). You may find it odd that boys write fanfiction (as my friends Chibi and Alawen thought...grr...) but the fact is that I am a guy. A man. The male gender of the species _Homo Sapiens_. If I sound "girly" in my Author Notes or Reviewers Responses, it's because most of the fics I read have authors who talk that way. No, there is nothing wrong with me, nor do I need to go see a doctor. And no, I don't think there's anything wrong with girls: I just wanted to clear up the fact that I am a BOY. Got it? W00t! :D

Anyways...

Inucrazy: Cute? Hmm...I never really meant for this story to be cute, but oh well...thanks!

Stephanie: Ugh, they just HAD to chuck out RK...a good anime it was. (I, on the other hand, own all episodes of RK on DVD! Bwa ha ha!)

Zimfry23: Thanks!

x-bladergirl-x: As I said, don't let the lack of reviews make you think no one's reading your stuff. Just think of the lack of reviews as a fact that your stuff's so good people are left speechless. :D

Fred the Mutant Pickle: Your brain's not working? I can fix that... #brings out the Large Stick of Smacking#

Samieko: You're correct, that's how you spell forte.

Shakujou: Thanks! And update your fic! Please!

Hayai-hakai: Ugh, return of the faulty server...but no matter! It looks like the server's back up again.

Sesshomaru4eva203: As I said above, I'm a guy, not a girl. :P And Mika, make sure you get him (or her) good.

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The dusty air of the library resulted in long strings of sneezes as the tiring group pored over the old books. They were searching the old records on defeating powerful demons, using their powers against them, and what not.

"Hmm..."

"What is it, Houshi-sama?"

"Umm, the writing's kind of faded so it's hard to read... Get...a...one-time...deal...all oden...50% off...?!"

Everyone nearly did a face plant at this. Everyone, except...

"Odenodenodenodenodenoden-"

Inuyasha let out a small sigh, and then said, "You just _had_ to get her going, didn't you bouzo?"

"Odenodenodenodenodenodenoden-"

"Ugh, someone PLEASE shut her up."

A (clean) rag to the mouth silenced Kagome somewhat.

#muffled# "Odenodenodenodenoden-"

Everyone let out another tired sigh, then got back to work (except Kagome, who was still shouting, well, you-know-what.)

-Naraku's hiding place-

The dark, floating globe of swirling energy that was Naraku paced about inside the heart of a dead volcano.

'Impressive, Naraku. I didn't expect for you to break into this body so quickly.'

'But I still have you to contend with.'

'True, true...'

The silence of the room reflected the silence inside Naraku.

It was broken when Akuma spoke up with, 'So, what do you plan to do next?'

Naraku chuckled and replied, 'Oh? So you don't know what goes inside my head anymore, do you?'

Akuma merely smirked and said, 'Another thing I'm impressed with. You've built a mental shield rather quickly.'

Naraku let out another chuckle and decided to brief Akuma on his plan.

'It's simple. Due to my invincible power I will simply hunt them down and exterminate each and every one of them.'

'Really? Now how do you suppose you'll find them? This is a rather large world, after all...I would know.'

'Simple. This is when you come in.'

Akuma was surprised for a few moments, then was in silent shock as Naraku "approached" him in his mind.

'I-iie, y-you wouldn't...'

'Heh heh heh...did you really think I would let you take up residence in my mind?' He gripped Akuma in a firm mental fist, and began channeling dark energy into him. Ignoring the anguished screams of the sorcerer, he used his dark powers to let him see what Akuma knew.

'So, Akuma can feel the presence of every living thing on this world...impressive...'

He searched a little deeper until he found what he wanted.

'A ha! There it is! So...the little fools tried to avoid my by hiding in various places? Heh heh heh...I will show them the true meaning of terror.' He released his torturous grip on Akuma and sneered at him.

'Remember, wretch, that I am of the Dark. No mental shields can ward off the consuming shadow. Now, to hunt down those fools...'

The floating ball of dark energy that was Naraku chuckled to himself and began moving off southwards.

'Heh heh heh...I will enjoy this little chase.'

-Back to the hideout-

Even after a few more hours of searching, the worn out gang failed to find any chinks in Naraku's armor.

"So we can't beat the b###### head on 'cuz he's too tough, and he doesn't' have any weaknesses either? So how are we supposed to kill him then?"

Miroshin spoke up, "Perhaps we could formulate a plan to trick Naraku into destroying himself..."

"Keh, he's not that stupid. Everytime we tried to plot against him he just sees right through our plan."

This time, Miroku spoke up with, "But how many times have we actually stopped to formulate a plan? Didn't we pretty much wing it for most of the battles?"

"H-hai, demo..."

"It feels like Naraku foils all of our plans because we never actually made them other than a simple, 'you go this way and I'll go that way' scenario."

"Keh..."

"So...what to do?"

"Perhaps a short rest will help us think up of something."

"I'll get the ramen!"

"Sugoi!"

Everyone scrambled to settle down for a nice hot meal of ramen (fortunately, Kagome brought enough to last them quite a while). But just as the water began to boil...

"Houshi-sama, do you feel that?"

"Hai...that dark jaki...it's terrible..."

"Is it Naraku?" asked Kagome, fear creeping into her voice.

Mirosuke paused for a few moments, then nodded, "Hai, it appears so. And he wouldn't appear near here by accident: he seeks to hunt us down. Mina, get ready for battle."

They replied with a sharp, "Hai!"

"Aww, and I was just about to get some ramen and a catch a few Zs..." whined Shippo.

-The battlefield-

"Come out and fight, Inuyasha!" bellowed Naraku. "Or has your recent defeat by me left you cringing like a frightened puppy before its master?" He chuckled to himself on that one.

"You're one to talk, Naraku! You're the one who's been hiding for all this time-"

"Silence weak ningen! Remember, it was I who sent you to this world! I can just as easily send you to the next world- Hell that is." He smirked and raised a glowing hand.

"I am the Dark, the consuming shadow that makes the bravest tremble and consumes all light...look upon me and despair!!" He finished the sentence with a powerful Water attack.

"I'll flush you out of your rocks like the insects you are! Liquid Torrent!"

Inuyasha yelled, "Everyone! Take cover-" before his voice was drowned out (almost quite literally) by thousands of gallons of water.

After the flood stopped, the entire gang was spread out here and there like discarded pieces of paper. Kagome, Shippo and Mirosuke were unconscious, while the rest of them were trying to get back up.

'S-such power...' thought Miroku as he struggled to get back up. 'Now we really need a plan more than ever...'

"Heh heh heh," came the annoying voice again. "What's wrong, Inuyasha? Don't you like the water?"

"Shut up! Kisama, Ho. Ibuki. Shonetsu. Infernal Breath!"

A stream of red-hot fire flew from Inuyasha's mouth...

Only to seem to "bend" around Naraku.

"Heh heh heh...was that your definition of 'hot'? THIS, is fire!" He raised his hands to the sky and shouted, "Jutsu no Ougi! Seven Hells Inferno!"

Inuyasha's eyes widened moments before all hell broke loose. 'Jutsu no Ougi? The Ultimate Spell?'

As soon as that thought flashed through his mind, seven large portals, each a different color ranging from red to black, appeared around him.

"Inuyasha!" shouted Kagome.

Inuyasha braced himself as a strange demon appeared from each of the portals, each demon holding a large ball of fire. The fireballs were of the corresponding color to the portal they appeared in (A/N: So the demon from the Red Portal would hold a red fireball, and etc.)

Naraku laughed and taunted, "This is the Fire Element's ultimate spell: Seven Hells Inferno. Feel the seven fires of the hells, each a sliver of heat from the Seven Demon Lords. Your fire rat cloak will not protect you now, Inuyasha."

He gave one last sneer before he ordered the Demons to attack. "Owakare."

"INUYASHA!!!"

The seven demons unleashed the fury of the Seven Hells upon the hanyou, the red, blue, black, white, green, purple, and gray flames melting everything upon contact.

But where was Kagome?

"Heh heh heh...and so you died Inuyasha, on a foreign, desolate world separated from home...huh? Nani?!" He turned around and saw none other than Kagome struggling to hold up a very surprised and shocked Inuyasha.

"K-Kagome..."

Kagome let the hanyou down with a #thump#, and put a soothing hand on her back.

"Ow...you really need to lay off the junk food..."

"Nani?! Says the musume who chugs down at least three cans of soda a day!"

"I can't help it if I have a caffeine addiction!"

"#AHEM#!"

"..."

"Good. Now that I have your attention, perhaps we can turn our attentions back towards something more important? Like Naraku for instance?"

Naraku stared at Kagome for a while. 'N-nani? That slip of a girl managed to evade the most powerful Fire attack? There's something peculiar about this... yes...'

"So you dodged that attack? No matter. Lightning Storm!"

"Eeeek!"

The gang was blown around like confetti by the forces of multiple lightning strikes. Landing harshly on her side, Sango thought, 'Ugh... at this rate, all that's going to happen is us running around like rats while we get killed off slowly...we need to think of something...'

"Heh heh heh..." Once more the menacing chuckle raised everyone's hackles.

"As I have said before, I am invincible. You have not a chance in the world to lay a scratch on me, much less defeat me. Just surrender now, Inuyasha, and I promise I'll make it quick."

"I-iie..."

"No? Too bad. If there's one thing wrong with Inu youkai, it's that they're too stubborn for their own good." He shot out a tentacle that pierced Mirosuke's chest and dragged the aged man closer while the victim squirmed about.

"G-grandfather!!"

"Otou-san!"

"So, I'll kill off your friends one by one..." he channeled Mirosuke's strong soul through the tentacle that pierced him and stored it up inside his arm. He casually threw away Mirosuke's empty shell and pointed his arm at the dazed group.

"And now, for a little taste of Darkness...Jutsu no Ougi! Omega Soul Flash!"

A huge, twenty foot wide blast of black energy ripped through the air like a knife but with the force of a sledgehammer.

"Get down!"

"Eeek!"

"Woah!"

"O-otou-san!!"

"Father, get down!"

...

And all was silent.

A huge cone-shaped area in front of Naraku lay completely desolate, with a dark mist beginning to creep all over the place.

"Heh heh, the soul is a powerful energy source, is it not? The powers of the Dark take full advantage of this."

He paused and floated closer to Inuyasha's position and continued, "So, Inuyasha...one of your number has fallen. The next will be someone a little bit closer...Kagome, for instance?"

"Grr...You touch one hair on her-"

"And you'll what, hanyou? You are too weak to do anything right now. Just give it up, or I'll make sure each and every one of you suffers."

"There's no f###ing way we'll #grunt# loose to you, Naraku."

He drew Tessaiga and charged, shouting, "So just shut up and die!"

As the white haired hanyou charged, Miroku thought, 'If he goes straight forward, he'll get skewered...wait, I've got an idea!'

"Kisama, Inuyasha, die!"

The tentacle shot at him at blinding speeds and was about to pierce his skull.

'Too fast...'

"Inuyasha!!" A gust of wind blew the hanyou upwards, startling both Inuyasha and Naraku.

"Quickly, Inuyasha! Attack!"

"Umm, right! Hi no Kizu!" The large flame blades erupted from deep inside the blade and slammed into Naraku, who staggered back from the force of the blow. Not wasting any time, Inuyasha followed up with a stab straight into the middle of the glowing ball.

"Teme, Naraku, how about YOU die?!"

"GAAAAAAAHH!" Naraku flew off the end of Tessaiga and landed with a #thud# on the rocky ground.

'D-did I get him?' thought Inuyasha. His question was answered when Naraku's form began rising again.

"Teme, Inuyasha..." he whispered. "You will taste the wrath, of the elements. For daring to harm this great Naraku, I will make the last few moments of your life a living hell! Now come at me wretch!"

And the battle went on...

#  
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Whew! I had a serious case of writer's block in the beginning there. But it's finally updated! W00t!


	22. The Demonologist Akuma

Disclaimers: I do NOT own Inuyasha or any of its characters.

Good grief, this last week was busy. High School takes a little getting used to. So my apologies for the long wait.

Fred the Mutant Pickle: #Sigh# Yes, I AM a guy. And Alawen's been bugging me at school about this. #grumble# And as for putting you on my favorites list, I was just returning the favor. :D

Demon Exterminator Barbie: Rare, am I? #Feels like an endangered species#

Shakujou: Thanks! And just wait, you'll see how this all works out.

Inucrazy: Thanks for the compliments! But now I must go into a long lecture about Japanese translations:

Inuyasha's enchanted Fang blade is called TeSSaiga, not TeTSUsaiga. According to several translation sources, the word Tetsusaiga itself is grammatically incorrect. Tessaiga is the true name. Why? According to the Japanese spelling of the sword's name, it would normally be called Tetsusaiga if it were not for a tiny character at the top of the name, making it Tessaiga. This is the same reason why Sesshomaru isn't called Setsushomaru. And another note, if Tessaiga was spelled Tetsusaiga, Inuyasha's claw attack, Sankon Tessou, would be called Sankon Tetsuou. But it isn't, is it?

Stephanie: Really? My, you're rather perceptive!

Samurai-lapin: Now breathe...that's better. :D and Thanks!

Wandering Namekian: Asylum? Again? #Takes not to avoid Alawen from now on#

Kaylana: Ugh, I can understand...too much stuff to do...

Kodocha08: I'm sticking with Kirara in this story (and future ones) instead of Kilala. Why?

Simple. Kirara's name is Japanese, so it would have to follow the Japanese rules of grammar.

Now you would say, "But what about names like Luffy (One Piece, which I do not own) or Alucard (Hellsing, which I also do not own)?" Although a Japanese person named the before mentioned duo, their names do not come from Japanese origins. Alucard is actually Dracula spelled backwards, and Dracula is hardly a Japanese name. Therefore, it would make sense that Alucard's name is spelled that way. As for Luffy, he lives in a pirate world that hardly resembles Japan except for a few things. Therefore, it would make sense if his name was spelled Luffy.

However, as I've said, Kirara's name isn't a foreign word: so it must follow the Japanese rules of grammar. If Kirara was spelled Kilala, wouldn't Miroku be called Miloku? And Rin Lin? Naraku Nalaku? Kagura Kaula? And so forth. That's why I'm keeping Kirara's name spelled with two r's, not l's.

And now on with the story!

""=Speech

''=Thoughts

##= Asterisks

The Inuyasha gang couldn't decide what was worse: a super powerful Naraku that continued to mock them with that cocky sneer on his face, or a super powerful Naraku that was royally ticked off and threw enough firepower around to easily annihilate a large city the size of modern day Tokyo.

Miroku barely dodged another gout of fire as Naraku sent out another Infernal Breath, wincing as the heat licked at his legs. He knew he couldn't keep this up for long, but what could they do?

"Kisama! DIE!" A lightning bolt blasted its way through Kagome's ice barrier and sent the girl scurrying for more cover.

"How are we going to beat him?!" squeaked Kagome as another killer bolt of static streaked past her.

Try as they might, every time one of them stood up out of cover to attack they would be sent back towards a safe haven by whatever devastating attack Naraku would send.

So what were they to do?

Miroku dived behind the rock Inuyasha was hiding behind, checking to make sure that his legs weren't vaporized by a searing beam of light. Afterwards, he said to the crouching hanyou, "Inuyasha, there's no way we can beat him in this current state."

"Shut up, monk!" growled Inuyasha, agitated by both the monk's despair and the killing energies that were flying around the battlefield. "You think I'm going to just give up and die here?"

"Iie, I don't mean that. We can't beat him as of now, so we should make a run for it."

"Run away? Hell no!"

#Thwok# "Not 'run away', it's called a 'strategic retreat.'"

"#Grumble# Way to put it nicely bouzo.."

Another #Thwok#

"What the-?!"

"Alright, listen up. I'll get out there and provide a distraction. You get the girls and my father, and get out of here. Just run as fast as you can."

"What about you?"

"I can move around the fastest here, so I'll catch up. Now go!"

"Y-you sure!"

"Hai! GO!"

"Good luck..friend."

Inuyasha gave Miroku one last look before he sprinted towards the girls' hiding place.

"Kaze. Kouu. Ken. Rain of Blades!" A hailstorm of sharp wind-blades showered down upon the floating Naraku. Seeing them coming, he swatted them away effortlessly.

"You think such a weak attack would work against me? Ahou! Flame bomb!"

By now Inuyasha had reached Sango, Kagome and Miroshin and took hold of all three of them. That's when he saw...

"Miroku! Watch out!"

"Wind Barrier!"

The timely barrier managed to deflect most of the bomb's power and sent it straight up into the sky, causing a huge explosion that lit up the horizon like a second sun.

"Holy..."

"Come on, let's go!"

Sango snapped out of her revere and took a moment to realize what was going on. Inuyasha gathering them to leave, while Miroku was the only one fighting...

"Nani?! We can't just leave Houshi-sama behind!"

Inuyasha gulped hard and replied, "He told me to get you guys and get the heck out of here." He grabbed hold of Kagome while Miroshin hoisted Sango by the waist.

Kagome began protesting as well. "Inuyasha! I don't care what Miroku-sama said, we're not going to just leave him behind with that monster!"

Avoiding her eyes, Inuyasha replied with, "He wanted us to get out of here. He said he would catch up, and I trust him enough to know that he'll make it out alive. No let's go!"

"Iie!" shouted Sango. "I won't go!" She struggled with all her might against Miroshin's iron grip.

Pounding on the man's arms, Sango shrieked, "That's your one and only son out there about to get killed! WHAT SORT OF FATHER ARE YOU!?"

"SILENCE!!!"

Inuyasha, Kagome and Sango were completely stunned for a while. It had never occurred to them that Miroku and his fathers were even capable of shouting in anger.

After taking a deep breath, Miroshin managed to force out, "The last thing I taught Miroku before I came here was that it is the duty of a member of our line to give up anything for his loved ones, whether it be his happiness, his life, or his possessions. And I, for one, will not let my son's sacrifice go to waste. Now let's go!"

Sango gave one last look at Miroku and thought, 'Fight hard, Miroku...just come back alive...'

Beside her, Miroshin thought, 'Take heart, my son. You have made our line proud many times over.' "Mina! Let's go!" he shouted.

They were just about to leave when...

#CRASH#

Naraku had used a gigantic boulder as a hammer to crush Miroku into a bloody pulp. The monk had managed to doge being turned into a fleshy pancake, but he didn't see that other boulder coming...

"MIROKU!!"

A smaller, bowling-ball sized chunk of granite smashed itself mercilessly into Miroku's ribs, shattering them and forcing him to cough up blood when he finally hit the ground.

Naraku casually floated over to the fallen monk as he struggled to pick himself off of the ground.

"And like your grandfather before you, fool you will die a painful death." He raised a hand high into the air.

"Poison Globe!"

He summoned a globe of deadly, virulent poison in his palm and readied himself to throw it...

'Now's my chance!'

Naraku was just about to finish off Miroku when suddenly, something or someone inside him stopped him from moving.

'Nani? What is this devilry?' Then he realized something. 'Akuma!'

Even inside his mind Akuma's voice was strained with effort. 'Heh, you let down your guard, Naraku, and for that you will pay!'

Akuma _willed_ Naraku's form to stand rigidly still. It took every strand of willpower in Akuma to do so, but he would not allow Naraku to follow through his plans.

Sango took the initiative with a boulder of her own. Lifting it off of the ground with her willpower, she hurled it as fast and as hard as she could at the offending hanyou.

#Clonk# The boulder smashed into the back of Naraku's head, the impact disorienting him somewhat. Seizing the moment, Miroku decided to scramble as fast as he could back to his companions.

"What's going on?" pondered Kagome out loud. She wasn't the only one wondering this as the seemingly frozen Naraku continued to stand rigidly still in an awkward position. It was as if Naraku was a robotic toy that just got its plug pulled.

"What should we do? Shall we attack?"

"Well, might as well..."

Inuyasha was just about to prepare himself to launch a devastating attack towards Naraku when something strange, and very loud, happened.

Naraku screamed. And boy could that demon scream.

The bloodcurdling cry reverberated throughout the battlefield like a foghorn, the hoarse shout disturbing all who were unfortunate enough to listen.

"What the?! What the hell is going on!"

All the gang could do was cover their ears and pray for deliverance from their auditory hell.

Fortunately enough, it stopped quite soon...

But the results were just as disturbing, as Naraku clutched his head, fell to his knees, and then began muttering to himself.

The gang could only watch and wait for the demon to come out of his throes of madness. With white-knuckled hands gripping their weapons, they stood at guard watching every detail that went on.

Eventually, Naraku came out of his murmuring state and moved on into a hoarse growl that was forced through his teeth. Inuyasha managed to pick up a few words:

"Get... of... head...no...body....not..."

"What the..." wondered Inuyasha for the hundredth time.

Without warning, a sphere of greenish light ejected itself like a bullet from Naraku's head and came to a rest about fifty feet in front of him.

Naraku finally ceased his strange internal struggle and relaxed, giving out a great shuddering sigh of relief and began with a mocking sneer, "Not bad, Akuma. Since we shared the same body, you decided to foil my plans by forcing me to stop. That was my mistake. But-" here he lifted a hand to fashion a ball of lightning out of nowhere-"That mistake will not be made again. Your plans and plots are laid bare to me, demonologist. They are dead...and as will you."

In a blink of an eye the ball lightning slammed into the still groggy Akuma, blowing him backwards and throwing goblets of flesh and blood about. Akuma hit the cold earth with a dull thud, and lay still.

The victor turned towards the stunned and confused group and said, "I will retreat for now. But I assure you, the next time we meet, your chances of survival will be nil. Farewell, half-breed." Without waiting for a reply, Naraku seemingly melted into the ground and disappeared.

"H-he melted into his own shadow?"

"A #cough# c-common Dark elementalist's trick..."

Everyone was caught off guard by the sudden voice that met their ears. When they turned around to locate the origin of the sound, they were greeted by a white haired man lying on the ground with a large, sizzling wound on his chest. If it were not for his sizeable wounds, one might have considered him handsome.

"Who are you?" asked Miroshin.

"I-I am Akuma, the sorcerer who sent the Five to kill you..."

"Nani?! It was you, you ba#####! Die-"

"Inuyasha! Yamero! Don't kill him, onegai."

"What?! Why?!"

This time, Miroshin brought his little piece of wisdom. "Inuyasha, if this is Akuma, the one who helped created this world, wouldn't it be better if we kept him alive for questions and information?"

Akuma interrupted wth, "#Cough# Iie, I will not last long, so I will get straight to the point."

"Naraku is planning to go to the Core of this world to absorb the powerful elemental energies that are stored there in the Energist Spheres-"

"How do we know that you're not lying to us?!" shouted Inuyasha.

Tired of his outbursts, Kagome decided to pacify Inuyasha temporarily. "Osuwari."

You know what happened next.

Ignoring the struggling hanyou who was lying face down in the earth, Akuma continued, "When I helped create this world, I #cough# #cough# stored all the elemental energies that I found here into seven large spheres, one sphere for each of the elements. Whenever there #cough# is an imbalance caused by the strengthening of one element, the rest of the elemental spheres become weaker, making them easier to destroy. At your current state, the only way you could ever defeat Naraku is by destroying enough Spheres so that the most powerful one unleashes all of its energy in one destructive blast...#hack# #wheeze#..."

"But Akuma, is there any particular reason that you created this world?" asked Kagome.

Akuma lay in silence for a while, making the others believe he had suddenly died but somehow kept his eyes open while doing so. But Akuma broke the silence with, "It's been a while since someone asked me that, young one. My real name is Tastsumoto Mitsurugi, and here is my story..."

That's that. Sorry for the long delay again, but at least this chapter was pretty long, right? :D The next chapter will contain Mitsurugi's history and the prelude to the final battle.


	23. Tatsumoto Mitsurugi: Tragedy's Tale

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Inuyasha or any of its characters.

Wheee! The mix of three hurricanes sending wind and rain my way plus loads of schoolwork has cut down on my computer time...which also means no quick updates. Sorry!

Speaking of hurricanes, the South's just been hit by three of them (Charlie, Frances and Ivan in that order) and Jeanne and Carl are coming right up....whew! I'm glad I live in Georgia and not in Florida.

Stephanie: Thanks! And good luck finding Rurouni Kenshin wherever it may be...

I-C: #wonders who it is#

Shakujou: Thanks! :D And good luck with your ficcie too!

Hayai-hakai: I'm going to try to do my best to make this fic a 40,000 worder, so hang tight!

Fred the Mutant Pickle: Long time no see Fred! And worry not, the sequel is coming soon. :D

"" Speech

'' Thoughts

## Asterisks

_Italics_ Narrator's speech

##  
#

Quick Recap:

# The Battlefield #

Akuma lay in silence for a while, making the others believe he had died but somehow kept his eyes open while doing so. But Akuma broke the silence with, "It's been a while since someone asked me that, young one. My real name is Tastsumoto Mitsurugi, and here is my story..."

#Flashback to about 200 years ago#

_The world I lived in wasn't that much different from the world that exists in Japan now. Demons roamed the land, hunting down humans like game and the only ones who were safe were the ones who congregated and took up weapons for mutual defense...but even those little communities were defenseless against anything bigger than fire rats._

_I remember the day I lost my father to such demons..._

"Mitsurugi!" screamed the young, bloodied man. "Run!!"

The small boy and his mother stumbled upon his pieces of rubble and the occasional carcass as they dashed s fast they could from the coming destruction.

"Get away from them, you filthy youkai!" The man defending the young boy and his mother didn't even feel remotely frightened when his rusted katana snapped upon the demon's steel-hard carapace. Nor did he feel much pain when the demon's claws opened him up like a butcher to a fish.

"O-otousan!" shouted the boy in both horror and worry.

Mustering all of her willpower to not break down then and there, she managed to force out, "C-come on Mitsu-chan, d-daddy would have wanted us to live on. Come!"

And so they fled like the wind, villagers and buildings falling before the great youkai like insects to pesticide.

_I was only about six years old when I saw my father die a violent death right before my very eyes. My mother and I had to endure unbearable hardships until one day we made the mistake of stumbling into the den of a nearby wolf tribe..._

The boy, a few years older now, stumbled into the dry, warm (and smelly) cave being towed along by his mother...

Right into the family den of a large pack of male wolves.

It wouldn't have been so bad had the wolves not just eaten: hungry wolves rarely allow their prey to suffer (mainly because they tear into food at an alarming rate). However, these wolves had recently stuffed themselves with nearby deer and were currently lounging around.

What made it REALLY bad was the fact that these wolves were on an expedition to conquer more territory: and male wolves on such expeditions tend to become very lonely at night...

_I was forced to watch raping of my own mother by ravenous wolf demons and then afterwards watch her mangled corpse get fed to the wolves. I suffered a fate almost as horrible when the wolves forced me to become the playmates of their cubs once the expedition made it back to their home den._

The thing about wolf cubs are that, like natural wolves, they tend to wrestle and tumble with other cubs early on in life to develop muscle strength and hunting skills. While their "friendly" rough-housing was harmless to a wolf demon, it did wonders to create various bumps, breaks and bruises for a human boy.

"Owww..." moaned the small boy, now aged ten. "Last time I try to get Gato into a headlock..."

_Fortunately, I was lucky enough to be able to adapt quickly and make a place for myself among the wolves. While I never developed the strength to challenge the larger and stronger members of the tribe in direct combat, I nevertheless gained the respect of the tribal elders and was almost accepted among them as a brother, except that I still had to do the toilet duties..._

_You could have said I hated every single of those filthy wolves for what they did to my mother, or at least at first anyway. As a few years passed, my hatred toned down into a sort of dull, despairing 'I-don't-like-you-but-I'm-used-to-it-by-now' feeling. _

_And then one day..._

"HARPIES! KAMI, THEY'RE EVERYWHE-GAAAAA!!!" The wolf's shout of warning quickly turned into a death scream as the harpy used its talons to create a huge gash across the warrior's face and neck, severing his windpipe and major arteries and veins.

"Mina! To your battle stations! Get those feathery bas####s!!"

Mitsurugi, now a boy in his early teens, picked up his customized demon-slaying crossbow and fitted a killing bolt to it. Taking aim at a harpy that was harassing a group of wolves, he positioned himself at a footstance and pressed the trigger.

The projectile streaked like lightning to its target and hit it square through the upper half's chest, wounding it badly and allowing the fighters to drag it down and finish it off.

"Nice one Mitsu!"

"Arigatou!"

Before he could re-fit a bolt to kill the next harpy, a huge crash annihilated the cave entrance.

The harpy king had arrived.

"Kuso..." muttered the chieftan. "Mina! Listen up! We have no method of escaping, so we've got only one thing left!"

Every fighting wolf nodded grimly, knowing what was expected of them.

"TO THE DEATH!" they all roared. The ferocity of their shout shook the cave walls and slowed the charging harpies somewhat. Then the wolves picked up their weapons and charged forward one last time, howling all the way.

_The remnants weren't pretty. Every wolf, down to the last demon, were slaughtered in a flashing glory of blood and gore. I, being a frail human, was knocked out near the end of the battle when only a few last wolves and I were left standing. Luckily for me, my scent of life was masked by the tremendous amount of blood and flesh caked all over the place, so the harpies left without finishing me off. Some days, when I think back on this terrible battle, I wished that I had simply died with them._

_It took me a few days to wake up, get my wits together and search for food and shelter. It seemed that the gods were smiling upon me that day: the harpies had not touched our supplies, and there were plenty of bags, water skins, and weapons strewn about the battle field. The only problem was that the cave was no longer fit for shelter: in a few days the putrefying flesh would probably create some sort of plague that would kill me. Heh, funny how a little disease can fell the mightiest of trees, demons and men._

_Anyways, I managed to collect enough food, water and clothing to last me a while. But where would I go? I certainly wouldn't be accepted back into wolf society: according to their traditions, when the entire pack was slain in battle and you were the only survivor, the only thing left to do was to kill yourself. Like I would do that any day. _

_But human villages? If I went in there with my wolf-tribe clothing on I would be cast out faster than you could say "Konnichiwa!" If I managed to pilfer some clothes off of someone, I might have been able to pass as a samurai or whatnot. And so I decided that living among the humans would be the best course of action._

_It was after several days of traveling that I finally found a human settlement. It had high, palisade walls with armed men up on top of watch towers. A well guarded human village obviously- perfect._

_I had managed to steal some clothes off of a wealthy merchant that I had run into the other day..._

#The little "merchant" incident#

Mitsurugi lay in wait as the wealthy (and extremely foolish) merchant finally decided to go to sleep. 'About time,' thought the wolf-man. 'I thought he'd be counting his stupid money for the entire night...'

When he heard snores erupting like an earthquake from the pudgy man, he decided to creep up to his wagon and pilfer a few clothes. After calming down the nervous horses, all went well until...

"Mmm...man, that geisha house was great..."

He froze in shock. He had heard of tales from the geisha house among his more... "curious" wolf comrades, and from what he had heard, it wasn't pretty...in a "clean" way.

And so the sleeping merchant continued to sleep talk about his adventures in a geisha house with the unfortunate Mitsurugi willing himself to not get a nosebleed and puke at the same time. But all of his willpower could not save him from the next one...

"#Mumble# And then one geisha turned out to be a guy..."

'!!!!!!!'

Needless to say, the flailing of hands that came afterwards scared the horses enough so that they began thrashing around. This also brought the merchant out of his little fantasy world.

"What on...oi! Thief! Get back here!"

Mitsurugi quickly snatched a pair of yukatas and some pants and made a dash for it. 'Please don't let the guards come...'

Instead, the fat man picked up his overly decorative katana (which he certainly did not know how to use), drew it from the scabbard, and then began chasing Mitsurugi around. The latter, having lost his senses in a panic, ended up being chased in a circle.

"Get back here so I can give you a good thrashing you no good thief!"

"Yamero! I just need some clothes onegai!"

"Stop!"

This continued for a few minutes until Mitsurugi finally gathered his senses and stopped the fruitless circling.

Heedless of the branches whipping into his face, he sprinted into the dark forest and did not stop until he found another dirt road.

'Whew...that was probably the weirdest thing I've ever run into in my entire life...'

_Not the most pleasant of memories in my life, but when were my memories ever enjoyable anyways? _

_But back to village. As I have said before, the village was a small fortress, complete with palisade walls and watchtowers full of archers. It would be a safe haven from most demon attacks._

_I found out too late that it was an exterminator's village._

The guardsman shouted for the gatemen to let down the large wooden fortress gate. After some turning of the crank, the huge wooden platform set down with dull #thunk # in a groove in the dirt ground.

Once Mitsurugi entered the gates, he was greeted by the village chieftan, a powerful looking man with...

'What the? Exterminator's uniform? Wait a sec...'

"Greetings, traveler! Welcome to my exterminator's village!"

'Oh sh-'

"Come inside1 You look weary!"

"W-w-wait-"

But before he could protest further, he was dragged inside by the cheery chieftain.

_They never found out that I was pretty much raised by a wolf demon clan. Funny how they never figured it out, seeing how I haven't had any social human contact other than helping the other wolves rip them apart._

_I spent my time training to become a tayjia like the people around me were. The irony was too sweet: me, a degenerate man raised by demonic wolves now training to hunt monsters like them. It didn't get any better than this._

_Anyways, I was an alchemist-slayer, meaning that not only did I fight amongst my comrades upon the field of battle, I also brewed chemicals, potions and poisons to assist them when facing tougher demons. Also, I pored over ancient scrolls containing lore about the demons that roamed the world. After a few year's study, I was a first-class demonologist._

_A few more years went by, until I was about twenty. Then I met her..._

_Karasu Tokia._

_I was on a standard exterminating hunt that day, when it turned out that the demon we had to exterminate had a hostage..._

"Mitsurugi! Toss a few stunners at it!"

"Hai!" The young Taijya rummaged through his pockets and found a fist sized vial of clay labeled, "Demon Stunner". Taking careful aim at the thrashing weasel demon, he hurled the projectile straight into the creature's open mouth.

"Nice shot!"

The paralyzing chemicals flowed into the youkai's esophagus and trachea, disabling its abilities to swallow and breathe. As it slowly weakened, The other exterminators finished it off utilizing their advanced weaponry. The chieftain gave the demon one last stab in the belly for good meausure.

"And THAT is for stealing away that poor little girl. Oh? Ah, Mitsurugi! You've done me proud son!" He dislodged the spear from the weasel and gave Mitsurugi a face-planting pound on the back. "That was a great shot!"

Regaining his balance, the hero simply placed his hand on the back of his neck and smiled sheepishly. "Eh, just doing my job..." Then his eyes caught a bit of movement just beyond the chief's shoulder...

Led by a female exterminator, a young girl about his age limped by, a long gash on her leg slowing her down considerably. He felt an immediate attraction to her, a calling deep inside him he could hardly ignore.

"Oi. Oi...Oi! OI! #smack#" A sound cuffing from the chief brought Mitsurugi back to his senses. "#Chuckle# Taking a liking to the ex-hostge, do ya? Her name's Karasu Tokia, daughter of the local village leader. A fine looking young girl, too..."

#Whap#

"Ow!" Unfortunately, the chief's wife had been standing nearby when the chief decided to comment about the young girl. "I know, I know..." he grumbled, shying away from his wife's death glare.

Ceasing her basilisk's look at her husband, the chief's wife smiled in a motherly sort of fashion at Mitsurugi and said, "Why don't you go meet that nice young lady over there, Mitsu? I have a feeling you'll take a quick liking to her!"

Blushing like mad, he muttered out a "Hai" and decided to go and have a chat with the new girl.

_Of course, being raised for about a third of my life (and that third being your youthhood) among wolf demons hadn't exactly given me a few pointers on how to hit on women. But amazingly, nothing embarrassing happened other than a lot of blushing._

_Eveuntally, Tokia and I became friends, then best friends, then lovers, and afterwards newlyweds. I couldn't have been happier in my entire life. She was my light, the guiding spark amongst the darkness in my soul that leads me away from oblivion. I, in turn, gave her the happiness and care she never felt while she was trapped in that stale old mansion she used to live in._

_But the fates are never kind. We didn't even manage to bring forth a child before the worst tragedy in the world struck me..._

_Tokia had been out in the field gathering ingredients for my chemicals as usual. She looked so fair with the wind blowing through her hair..._

_Anyways, she was stooping down to pick an odd looking mushroom when..._

Tokia was absentmindedly humming to herself and picking various roots and plants when the ground exploded beneath her. She knew her husband was watching from a fairly nearby distance, but know the brutal and swift efficiency of demons, she wouldn't have much time to wait for Mitsurugi anyway.

Sprinting as fast as her skirt would allow her, Tokia ran in zigzagging circles around the worm demon to provide a distraction while her husband got into place.

"Tokia! Get out of there! Fire in the hole!"

He prepared to lob an incendiary grenade at the foul worm. But nothing could ready him for what happened next.

The worm's mouth contained an appendage similar to a proboscis, except it had a point on it that could easily pierce a thick sheet of iron. And such a point pierced through Tokia's chest when she stumbled upon a protruding rock.

"T-T-TOKIA!!!"

Her lifeless body crashed into the ground, the dirt mixed with her blood spraying like the remnants of an ocean wave.

Screaming in an uncontrollable rage, he somehow managed to jump fifteen feet into the air and onto the worm's back. Hanging tightly onto the carapace, he took out his entire pouch of potions and force fed it into the worm's gaping mouth. Not bothering to see the fireworks that followed soon after, he leaped down from the dying worm and dashed to his wife's body.

"By the gods...Tokia! Tokia, koi, answer me! Onegai!"

"M-Mitsurugi..."

The raven haired beauty forced out her last words. "The light, it's fading...I can't see you anymore, Mitsurugi..."

"No, no, Tokia, you can't go yet-"

"Shh...it's alright. I'm just sorry I couldn't give you the son you've always wanted...#cough#"

"Please, Tokia, don't die on me..."

"#Cough# It's too late for me, Mitsu-kun." _She hadn't called me that in a while..._ "I've always been so happy ever since we met, and #cough# I wanted to thank you for that... sayonara..."

"Tokia! Yamero! TOKIA!!!!"

He screamed her name over and over again, even after her body went limp minutes ago. He ignored the rain that pummeled him, the wind that blew into his face, and the crowd of villagers who had dashed over to see what was going on...

_Afterwards, it was all a blur. I can't remember what happened, but I do remember that I left the village I had lived in for so long. Good old days they were..._

_The next memory I can still recall was the time when I made that pact...I was so desperate to bring her back that I sacrificed my health, my mind, maybe even my own soul to find a way to get her back. I was a lost cause...without Tokia there to guide me through my own darkness, I was a wandering wreck. That wandering led me to sacrifice my own soul, the very essence of my humanity, to a small pack of demons..._

_One thing led to another. The demons fooled me into thinking that they would help me find my lost love. But the demons are as full of knowledge as they are brutal and animalistic: after my possession they showed me that only a select few items in this world can undo the cleaving of a person's life force. And the demons who controlled me were certainly not interested in my little quest. _

_Afterwards, the demons added their power to mine: I became a super human. I could do almost anything a demon could do physically, and my masters also put my knowledge of demons to horrible uses. Quite soon, they came up with an idea..._

_What if they could inhabit the most perfect body in the world?_

_There was nothing I could do as they ruined the country side subtly, using sneaky and dishonorable tactics to turn warlords against one another in vicious wars that slaughtered many men, women and children. Throughout all of this, I questioned, why? Why are we spreading such misery throughout this land?_

_My answer was always an admonishing, 'just wait'..._

_I found out about their plans soon enough. It turned out that, in order to create the perfect youkai to possess, they had to create a world where the inner strength of a demon was brought out to its fullest potential..._

_And that world, is the world that we, right now, are standing on._

_I am Tatsumoto Mitsurugi; Demonologist, husband, man who was lost to oblivion. This is my story._

Tear jerker? No? Oh well. R&R!!!


	24. The Nepharion

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Inuyasha or any of its characters.

And here comes hurricane number 4, Jeanne! I just got through it, and frankly, its power was laughable compared to hurricane Ivan, the previous one. However, I do feel really bad for all the people in Haiti and Florida who lost loved ones and possessions to the storms...

The last chapter was quite a depressing one, ne?

Also, sorry about the long update delay. I was REALLY busy for along while...:/

Sesshoumaru4eva: Now now Sesshy, no cussing. :D

Stephanie: I find it kinda strange, but I have a bit of a knack for writing angst...

Gamja Freaky? O.o

Shakujou: Thanks! And no hurricane will ever harm me! :D

Darkunknownone: Rubber spoon? O.o

Fred the Mutant Pickle: Well, I just thought Mitsurugi was a familiar, generic guy's name, so I just decided to slap it on there. And yes, it's a good thing I didn't add Hiten to it or I might have shot myself for defiling Rurouni Kenshin. :D

Wandering Namekian: O.O Wow, my story's grown quite a bit, hasn't it? :D

Inucrazy: Yes, the world we live in is one that you could hardly call paradise, with all the death, destruction and anguish that runs rampant...

Hayai-hakai: Doh! This year must be really hard for you with all these hurricanes running about.

Kaylana: Chapter 21? I don't recall Miroku getting injured like that in chapter 21... but don't worry, this chapter will give everyone an update on the condition of everyone.

Well, on to the story!

""-Speech

'' -Thoughts

## -Asterisks

* * *

When the fallen demonologist had finished his tale, silence stifled the battlefield like a cloak.

Although she had just met this man, Kagome couldn't stop her tears. '#Sniff# So sad...I feel so sorry for this poor man...' She held onto Inuyasha for comfort. Sensing her anguish, the hanyou didn't protest.

No one said anything for a little while, but the silence was soon broken when Mitsurugi spoke once more, "Now, my own life is fading away. Before I die, must tell you how you must defeat Naraku.

"I can tell that he's heading towards the core of this world-"

"The core? Nani?"

Miroku explained, "For artificial worlds like this one, the core of the world is what powers and keeps the energies of the plane balanced. It is usually a large room full of different samples of the energies that exist there, and should those energies become unbalanced,, the entire land would be oblitereated due to the unbalanced powers trying to break free from the physical body of the plane"

"Precisely," continued Mitsurugi. "You must travel to the core and into the main Energy Chamber, but first you must defeat the #cough# Core guardians, the Nepharion. Each guardian has power over a certain element, so there are seven of them. Also, because your group has powers over the four physical elements, only three of the guardians will be activated."

"Ha! Only three? This should be a cakewalk!"

"#Cough# Not really. You see, when a guardian is stationary, it lends its energy to any active guardians, making them much more powerful."

"#Grumble# Keh..."

"But Tatsumoto-san," interrupted Miroku. "How would Naraku get in?"

"I designed the core to be #cough# accessible only to me and the perfect youkai I would create. And because Naraku is now a combination of all seven elements, he essentially IS the perfect youkai I had dreamed of. Therefore, the guardians cannot touch him."

Mutsurugi, who was propping himself up using a rock, lay back down on the cold earth.

"After you defeat the guardians, enter the Chamber. You will probably see Naraku draining energy from all the Energy Spheres inside. What you must do is muster up enough power to destroy all but one of the spheres- this will create #cough# an explosion large enough to annihilate Naraku." He reached inside his clothes and produced a small scroll. "You must quickly read this after you destroy the spheres. The scroll contains a spell that will take you back to wherever you wish."

By now, Mitsurugi's eyes were glazing over in death. "I bid you farewell, brave heroes, and the best of luck. May Kami watch over you..."

His eyes closing, Mitsurugi let out one final breath before he faded to dust and drifted off into the wind.

Once again, everyone hung their heads in silent commemoration to the fallen one, while Miroku muttered a prayer.

"Namu..."

A feeble breeze fluttered about after everyone had offered their own requiem, , finally bringing everyone to their senses. "Minna-san," Kagome called softly. "We should rest up and heal before we head off again."

It was strange, Inuyasha thought, that it would be Kagome calling for everyone to get up and moving again. Usually it was him doing the "urging" while Kagome just sat firmly on the ground and yelled at him for moving too fast and being inconsiderate. "H-hai," he replied.

After they had all gotten back up, Inuyasha whispered to Kagome, "Oi, how'd you recover so fast?"

"Huh?" replied Kagome, perplexed.

"I mean, aren't you the one who's always crying after something bad happens?"

Silence greeted Inuyasha for a few moments, leading him to believe that Kagome had suddenly fallen mute.

"Err, Kagome?"

She turned to give the hanyou a sad smile and murmured, "In my time, people die due to lots of reasons; illnesses, injuries, among other things. And during those times, we have to learn to move on. Otherwise, we'd all be stuck mourning for someone who's never going to come back."

She looked up at the sky and continued, "We've only met Tatsumoto-san for a short period, but his story really made me _feel_ for him. I've read tragic novels in my time that come up way short to his own novella- maybe that's why I felt so sad when he died. Such a sad tale, you know? But it's during times like this where you have to move on: life's not going to wait for you while you cry your head off, ne?"

Not being able to say anything, Inuyasha just continued on in silence.

After a few more moments of tranquility, Kagome continued once more, "When I was eight, my dad passed away...I was old enough to understand what death truly was and have great memories with my father, but young enough to become terrified by the loss of a family member. I think was then I learned that life won't always spoon feed you good times, and it'll throw you a few lemons from time to time. If I hadn't learned to move on then, I never would have been able to last here."

Everything she said felt like a crack of light that slowly widened in Inuyasha's mind. 'I understand exactly what you mean Kagome...' he thought.

She gave Inuyasha another smile and playfully patted him on the back. "Now let's head back to camp. Last one there's a baka!" She dashed off ahead of everyone, leaving a slightly stunned hanyou behind.

'Sugoi,' he thought. 'Maybe she's a lot stronger than I give her credit for.' He flashed a wild grin and leaped off after her.

#At main camp#

Fortunately, Sango's treatment powers were extremely effective. However, Miroku's ribs were still feeling somewhat sore from the drubbing they received at the hand of Naraku. So to keep him company, Sango had decided to stay with him.

Due to their exhaustion, the couple simply sat in the dim light in silence until Sango spoke up, "Y-your otou-san mentioned to me about a duty your line was meant to keep to..."

Miroku chuckled and replied, "Oh, did he give you that little speech about self-sacrifice?" He smiled at Sango's look of surprise. "I see. I was wondering what he was yelling about at that time..."

"During his last days in our world, chichi-ue constantly drilled into my head the fact that it is our purpose to serve and sacrifice ourselves for others. I don't exactly know who came up with that, but it's been in my family's line for many generations."

"At first I thought it was just another one of his boring lectures. But after I met our little posse, I've realized what it truly was worth- something to protect, something to devote yourself to. Maybe that's why our line has survived even with a curse in our hands- our duty to defend others gives us the determination we need to go on."

Silence entered the room once more.

"Our family had something similar to that too, once..." murmured Sango. Miroku's eyebrows perked up in curiosity.

"The life of a Taijya is thankless and hard. Everyday, when you leave your village to answer the call of a group of villagers needing a demon to be exterminated, you will always run into the possibility that you'll never make it back home, no matter how hard you try."

"And even though the people are thankful for a few short moments when we slay a demon for them, they go back to their old thoughts and ways. The next time we go to the village for business other than demon slaying, we exterminators are treated with suspicion and contempt. I still can't figure out how being a Taijya is so...low in the social ladder."

"And even today I still wonder at my own father's desire to protect others when they are so ungrateful to us."

"Perhaps your father realized that it is still his duty as an exterminator was to protect all of Japan from the demons that infest it."

"But still...that mindset got him killed one day, didn't it? That day in the castle, when we were fighting that spider demon...he tried so hard to both kill the demon and cause as few casualties for everyone as possible. He was so focused on the demon that, he never saw...never saw..." She couldn't bear it anymore. Tears trickled down her face as she recalled the most painful day in her life.

Sitting up slowly, he took Sango into his arms and began comforting her. "It's alright now, anata, it's alright..."

He rocked her back and forth like a child as Sango slowly cried her pain away. After a few minutes of this, Sango's muffled voice came through Miroku's robes. "A-arigatou, houshi-sama."

"It's Miroku, Sango," he replied with a grin.

"Sango-chan, Miroku-sama, you two should rest up. We've got a long trip ahead of us, ne-huh? Did I interrupt something?"

Kagome stood at the doorway holding a tray of hot ramen. The blushing couple let go of each other and resumed their original positions.

"I-iie, Kagome-chan."

"Daijoubu, Sango-chan? Your eyes look puffy..."

"Hai, it's nothing."

"Alright then...just make sure you two get some rest alright? And no hanky-panky while we're outside!"

"Kagome-chan!"

"Hey, that wouldn't be such a bad idea, would it?" #Slap#

Kagome giggled and dodged a roll of bandages as she quickly fled out the door while Miroku rubbed his stinging cheek and grinned sheepishly at the now extremely red Sango.

#Much later, at the entrance to the Core#

The group had been traveling as fast as they could with Inuyasha and Kagome riding on summoned elemental beasts (Kagome rode upon a blue water dragon while Inuyasha's steed was-surprise- a fire dog), Sango on top of Kirara, and Miroku and Miroshin flying with their own powers.

The land itself was strangely...barren, yet thrumming with great power. Perhaps this was the result of the combining of all seven elements?

Wasteland air blowing his hair around, Inuyasha began the age old, child-to-parent conversation when the family is in the car:

"Are we there yet?"

"No.

"Are we there yet?"

"_No._

"Are we there yet?"

"For the last time, NO!!"

"Sheesh, someone's grumpy."

"#Sigh# Water ball." #Splash#

"#Grumble#"

"So how do we know when we get there?" spoke up Miroku, interrupting the splattering session.

"It's quite a distance away, on foot it would have been a few day's worth of hard walking."

"Any indicators of where it actually is?" asked Miroku.

The cleared a mountain ridge as Kagome answered, "Well, demo... that, maybe?"

A colossal dome made out of solid obsidian sat like a fat king on a plateau that served as a throne. The gateway, shaped strangely like a mouth, seemed to seek to consume anyone that approached.

"Woah...that thing's pretty big..."

Uknowingly, Inuyasha had just stated the understatement of the millennium.

#At the entrance#

The trip to the entrance after its first sighting took much longer than anyone could have predicted- the dome was obviously quite far away when they had cleared the ridgetop.

"Kuso, my butt hurts...stupid fire dog. Alright, so how're we gonna blow that door down?"

"Err...knock?" replied Kagome.

"Keh! No baka that ever existed would answer a knock on a door like that. This place is obviously deserted expect for Naraku, and he's certainly not gonna let us in-"

The door lit up and creaked open after Kagome, ignoring Inuyasha's spleen venting, walked up and rapped on the door. The look on Inuyasha's face was quite priceless.

As Miroku walked by he gave Inuyasha a light pat on the shoulder and said, "Always listen to the ladies, my friend, whether you think she's right or wrong. I learned that ten years ago and it saved my life several times."

"#Grumble# What would YOU know about women, bouzo?"

"More than you perhaps?"

When the gates finally opened, a gargantuan room about a thousand feet high greeted the bickering travelers.

"Woah...you could fit an Egyptian pyramid in here!"

"A what?"

"N-nothing, just something from my time."

"Hmm...this place feels ancient and worn, yet powerful...can't you feel the power flowing through it?" Miroshin spoke after musing for a while.

They all could. Each and everyone of them could feel the elemental energy that pulsated out from the dome, each of them could feel the terrible power that slept inside the deep void of the Core.

"Well, minna, let's get going." They trudged through what seemed like an eternity towards what they assumed to be the door to the next room.

The door that met them later was significantly smaller than the entrance to the dome, but it was enormous nevertheless. The door was paralleled by seven twenty foot tall statues, each a different color. One was red, another was brown, and the others were grey, blue, green, black and white.

"These statues...why are they here?" Miroku mused.

"Decoration?" asked Sango.

"I doubt that. Wouldn't the entire hall be filled with statues if they were only ornaments?"

Before anyone else could reply, three of the statues, the green, black and white ones, glowed their respective colors and in a flash, they leaped off of their pedestals and landed heavily in front of the companions.

"_We are the Nepharion, the Seven Guardians of the Core,"_ they spoke, in a cacophony of voices that included gravelly rumblings, harsh whispers and loud wailings.

'Guardians?' thought Sango. Were these the guardians that Mitsurugi warned them about?

"_It is our duty given by our master to protect this place from the unworthy. And you, travelers, are not the Perfect Ones."_

"_Prepare for immediate termination."_

They struck with speed that completely belied their size and build. The green and white guardians flanked the utterly shocked gang, while the black one charged forward.

Thinking quickly, Miroshin shouted, "Everyone! Stick together! If they divide us up we're done for!"

"Easier said than done! LOOK OUT!" Miroku and Sango threw themselves over to the right to avoid the Life guardian's huge fist.

"Kuso, how are we going to defeat them? Woah!" Inuyasha just barely managed to leap over a sweeping blow by another guardian.

"Kagome! Shoot them1 Quick!"

"Hai! Ite! Ice Arrow!"

She let one of her ice bolts fly, but moments away from impact a barrier of flame leaped up and destroyed the frail arrow, protecting the Shadow guardian.

"Eh?! What's going o-aiie!" She shrieked and tried to shrink away from the Life guardian as it attempted to stomp on her.

"Kagome!" Three guesses on who dashes in to save her...

"Baka, what do you think you were doing, just standing right there like some idiot?"

"Well sorry for trying to help, Inuyasha!"

"Keh. Just be careful next time." He set her down gently a bit of a distance away from the fray.

"Matte, Inuyasha...did you notice how my arrow was blocked by a barrier?"

"Yeah, what of it?"

"Why would the Shadow guardian have fire powers?"

"Wait a sec...didn't Mitsurugi tell us something about this?"

"Something like, 'When a guardian is stationary, it lends its energy to any active guardians, making them much more powerful,' was it?"

"Hai...we should go tell the others. I'll run a distraction, you take some time to tell everyone what we just found out."

"Alright. And Kagome?"

"Hai?"

"Be careful, alright?" There was something in his eyes that was different from his usual arrogant, brutish glint. Was ? No, it was more than just concern...shaking her head, Kagome decided to think about it later. Right now, she had three guardians to wipe the floor with.

"A-arigatou, Inuyasha."

She notched an arrow, drew her bow once more, and prepared to let another killing bolt fly. "Mizu. Kumo. Enmu. Fog Cloud!" A large, tumbling cloud of dense fog settled itself over the three active guardians while Inuyasha led everyone else away.

"Alright everyone," Inuyasha panted. "Turns out that the other guardians are using their energies to protect the three we're fighting right now. Anyone got any ideas on how to beat these guys?"

"Umm, perhaps we should try physical rather than elemental attacks?"

"Maybe...although I doubt our weapons can penetrate their stony skin."

"Matte-I have an idea," interrupted Miroku.

"Huh? What is it?"

"According to the scrolls I've been reading, the ultimate attack of Wind is the Slayer Vortex. It's very similar to my Kazanaa in that it sucks everything in, regardless of size or power. But unlike my Kazanaa, the Slayer Vortex has shredder blades deep inside of it to destroy sucked in opponents."

"Now this is when you all come in. I need some time to prepare this spell, so you four and Kagome-sama must protect me while I begin the chanting. Once I am finished, everyone must hold onto something stable in order to not get sucked in. Got it?"

"Hai!" was everyone's shouted reply.

But just then...

"Inuyasha! Help!!"

"Huh?" Kagome was squirming in the Shadow guardian's oversized stone hands. Its eyes were glowing in an eerie fashion that showed much but revealed nothing.

"_Your life ends now. Prepare to be exterminated, human."_ It began gathering dark energy into its arms.

"K-KAGOME!!"

* * *

Cliffy! So you must read and wait anxiously for the next chapter! Ha! Chances are that the next chapter will be the last or next to last chapter in this story. R&R!!  
  
And before you head off, I ask all of you wonderful people to keep inside your hearts the people who suffered from the hurricanes. I haven't personally lost anyone, but I know what it feels like. So just keep them in your thoughts, even though it's been about a month since it all happened, ne?  



	25. Terror's End

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Inuyasha or any of its characters.

Hiya folks! Once again I apologize for the update and the lack of a Japanese to English dictionary somewhere. #Looks sheepishly at Fred#

Shakujou: And about time I updated too. And thank you for taking pity on the hurricane victims.

Hayai-Hakai: Yep, good thing I put the cliffhanger there, eh?

Fred the Mutant Pickle: Matrix? Huh? Oo And I tend to forget Shippo mainly because he doesn't seem to do much in action scenes.

K-chan9: About time you reviewed :P And good luck at Chatahoochee! :D

j/k! XD

Kaylana: Bah, darn you and your scientific knowledge. :P just kidding. But about that boulder scene, I really meant to say that the rock caused some minor hemorrhaging (like how in cartoons when someone gets smacked in the gut hard they start spewing up blood). And why do you hate Kagome and Inuyasha so much? They're the main characters of the anime/manga series, you know.

Important note: as of this chapter, this story hits the 40,000 word mark! YAY!

"" Speech

'' Thoughts

## Asterisks

#  
#

* * *

"K-KAGOME!!!"

Try as he might with adrenaline pumping through his veins, Inuyasha failed to reach Kagome in time to block the entire blast that issued forth from the guardian's arm. Most fortunately, however, the majority of the attack was sent into the chamber walls. Kagome was propelled backwards by the force of the blow and lay still against one of the great pillars.

After giving the guardian a kick in the face, Inuyasha hurried over to Kagome and cradled her in his arms. "Kagome, wake up, come on, wake up..."

"Ugh...huh? Inuyasha?" For a second, Kagome's eyes were her normal, bright brown ones, marred by confusion. But a heartbeat later, her brown orbs turned into those of terror.

"S-stay back!" She squeaked. Scurrying away from him, she feebly held out her bow and arrows with trembling hands in a vain attempt to ward of the now completely confused hanyou.

"Kagome? What's wrong?"

"G-get away from me! Leave me alone!" Her voice was muffled as she had curled her self into a shaking ball.

'What the...' thought Inuyasha. Something was terribly wrong. "Kagome, it's me, Inuyasha. Why're you so scared-"

"I-Inuyasha?" Her eyes kept flickering from terror to confusion and back. "W-what's going on? Why am I so afraid of you?"

'She's afraid of me?' thought Inuyasha. His brain finally caught onto something. 'That blast...for an instant there I thought I saw Kagome's eyes going psycho when she was hit by the blast. The Shadow guardian's powers have something to do with it...'

Kagome went back into terror mode again. "G-get back! Don't come a-any closer or I'll shoot!"

Now that was a good one. If it were not for the situation, Inuyasha would have keeled over laughing then and there. "Pff, come on Kagome. You couldn't hit the broad side of a barn!" To prove his point, the arrow feebly #twang#ed off of the bow and bounced off the stone ground.

Inuyasha took a step closer, which again brought Kagome into a shivering ball. 'Ugh, this is getting no where. I'll have to leave her here.' He turned and gave Kagome one last, worried look. 'Stay safe...anata.'

"Inuyasha! A helping hand right now would be much aprecciated!"

"Right! Hi no Kizu!" He was disappointed when a barrier of water dispelled his powerful attack. 'Kuso...'

While Inuyasha had his hands full with a now terrified Kagome, the others were forced to distract the guardians away from Inuyasha and Kagome.

"Sango, you take the left, I'll take the right!"

"Hai!"

"Go!" Sango dashed to the left and spun around, readying her boomerang. Taking full advantage of her own centripetal force, she released her weapon straight at the guardian of light. Miroku, from the right, used his wind powers to further increase the boomerang's striking power.

"Kaze. Atemi. Soujuu. Boufuu. Manipulating Wind!"

Like greased lightning, the bone projectile smashed into the stone behemoth's left arm, leaving a large crack down the length of its forearm. But instead of showing any signs of pain, it simply looked at the offenders and spoke in a booming, commanding voice, _"You will regret harming me in such a fashion, ningen. You would do well to forget how to fight."_

'Forget how to fight?...Argh!' The light guardian had raised its good arm and blasted Sango with a narrow stream of light.

"Sango!" Miroku rushed up and steadied the teetering demon slayer. "Daijoubu?"

"H-hai..." she tried to pick up her fallen Hiraikotsu but almost fell over due to its weight, which was extremely odd as she should have been more than used to it by now.

"Huh? What's going on..." Miroku could instantaneously sense that something was amiss. 'Sango, unused to Hiraikotsu? Nani?'

"Sango, what's wrong?"

"I-Idon't know, it's like I've forgotten how to fight or something!"

"But how is that possible? You've been fighting for years by now- watch out!" He grabbed her by the waist and leaped over to the side, narrowly missing a beam of white-hot light that zoomed past them. It certainly wasn't your everyday laser pointer...

After they had gotten back up, Sango continued the conversation with, "How am I supposed to know?! It just happened! Aiee!" She threw herself to the right to avoid yet another beam of light.

And now to Shippo and Miroshin (AN: Ha! You thought I'd forget them, didn't you?!?!?!)...

"Kuso, old man, can't you think up of something?!"

#Whap# "Watch your tongue, you little brat! And I'm not old, I'm only thirty years old!"

"#Grumble# Let's see YOU try keeping a clean mouth when you travel with someone like Inuyasha..."

Shippo ruefully rubbed the newly forming bump on his head and yelped as another rock crushing, metal piercing killer vine plowed into the floor beneath him.

"We can't dodge vines like this all day!" he yelled at the running monk.

"Well, what do you suppose we do then?!"

"Anything but thiiiis!!" The last word was extended as another tentacle of vines lifted the kitsune up high into the air and threw him against a pillar. Luckily, he managed to turn into his balloon form in time to avoid any serious injuries.

"Shippo! Argh, kuso..."

Miroshin pondered on what to do next after he managed to find a lull in the intense fighting, but was broken out of his trance when a swarm of various, fleshy creatures swarmed at him.

"Nani?! What devilry is this?! Kaze, Utsu, Yari, San! Wind Spear!" However, the piercing wind failed to stem the oncoming horde. Seeing that fighting would be fruitless, Miroshin made like a bishonen fleeing screaming fangirls and began running around randomly, dodging various attacks and minions.

'I knew I should have stayed in bed today...' he thought frantically.

And now back to Inuyasha...

"Woah!" His flame barrier managed to stave off yet another blow for what seemed to be the thousandth time.

'Ugh, this is really getting nowhere. Where's that worthless monk and his stupid little plan?' He tried to slash again at his foe but its stony arm blocked the enchanted dog fang.

He gave a quick glance back at Kagome, who was still cowering away from everyone by one of the pillars. She was still deathly afraid, but at least she wasn't trembling. Her ceaseless rocking back and forth, however, worried him somewhat.

However, his foe did not appreciate his brief lack of attention, so it raised a fist and slammed it into the ground. Inuyasha paused, wary of what the guardian could do next.

His curiousity was satisfied when the ground erupted from beneath him and spewed forth a large glob darkness that nicked the hem of his Hinezumi coat. The durable jacket hem simply...'blinked' into nothing, as if it had never existed in the first place. Fortunately, Inuyasha managed to twist away from the path of the strange blob that sprang into the air.

"What the..." His curiosity was abruptly cut short when the blob went after him again.

"Woah!" he let out. He tried throwing a lightning bolt off of the Tessaiga at the offending...thing...but the static bolt was swallowed up and disappeared like the Hinezumi hem.

'Kuso...' The situation was steadily getting worse and worse. It seemed as if the guardians had an inexhaustible energy supply.

'If I could only-whoa!-find a way to destroy these rocky bakas...wait...' He finally decided to put that gray piece of matter many of us call a brain to use and came up with...

'If the blob tracks me and constantly follows me around, then maybe I can lead it back to its summoner...' He hefted his sword once more and shouted a biting taunt while rushing at his foe. "Oi! Rock-head! Bet ya can't beat me head on!"

"_You only rush to your own annihilation, fool."_

"Let's see who the real fool is now! Have some of your own medicine!" At last the second, he leaped vertically up and over the guardian's head.

The blob plowed through the stony sentry's right side, cleanly removing its right arm at the shoulder and most of its torso on the same side. The guardian, clearly not expecting this, immediately unsummoned the powerful weapon. But the damage was already done.

In her own little corner, Kagome suddenly sprang out of the little ball she had compacted herself into. 'What just happened?' she wondered, completely confused. Her memory between the time she was struck and now was extremely fuzzy, as if someone plucked them out of her head with a pair of tweezers, covered it with wool and snipped a few holes in it.

She groaned and stood up, trying to shake a strange feeling that felt outlandish yet so familiar. Confusion? Dread? Terror? Yes, terror. That was the one. But why terror, of all emotions...

'That guardian's attack...when I was hit by it, I was so filled with terror I could hardly move...' She managed to remember herself threatening Inuyasha with her bow and arrows. 'G-gomen, Inuyasha...' she thought as a wave of guilt threatened to make her burst into tears.

She was broken out of her guilt session when she sensed something was amiss with Inuyasha. As it turned out, the hanyou was flailing in midair with the guardian's left hand closed around his neck. Inuyasha was quickly losing his strength.

"I-Inuyasha!" she screamed. 'I have to help him...' She threw a jet of water that knocked Inuyasha from his foe's iron grip.

"Dammit wench! What was that for!?"

"I was j-just trying to save you! Baka..." She grumpily murmured the last word out. She put herself in a combat position while Inuyasha leaped to her side.

"#Huff# #Puff# So, what's the, #huff# next plan of #puff# action?" Inuyasha asked.

"Err...how about you distract him while I come up with something?"

"...What?! Have you gone nuts, wench?!"

"Well, why don't YOU think up of something better then?!"

"Keh! I can- watch out!" He leaped to the air with Kagome in his arms as a dark energy ball slammed into where they were standing moments before.

"Hayaku, Inuyasha! Run a distraction!"

"Hai, hai..." Wearily, he adjusted his grip on Tessaiga and dashed in a zig-zag pattern.

"Oi! Blocky! Can't catch this!" With a snap of his fingers, he engulfed himself with a bright fire that increased his speed to maddening velocities.

'I need an attack that can kill the guardian in one, solid blow...' thought Kagome. She remembered the time when Miroku single-handedly obliterated the Five with one spell. 'What did he call it? Heaven's Breath? Hai, I need an attack of that caliber...but none of the attacks I have can do something like that...' she searched deep inside of her soul, swimming through the ethereal blue that comprised of her spiritual essence, and found her answer.

'I got it! Now for the spell-Inuyasha!' Just as she was preparing herself to begin casting, she saw Inuyasha finally get caught by his enemy.

"_I will break you, hanyou, both mind and body. Eternal Terror-"_

"Yamero! Inuyasha!" She watched in horror as the guardian began gathering energy.

Tears leaked from her eyes as she shut them closed, unwilling to see Inuyasha struck down.

'Hayaku! Onegai!'

Then she felt a pulse of energy gathering in front of her. When she opened her eyes, nothing prepared her for what she saw.

Waves upon waves of water, each large enough to capsize a large shipping boat, rose from the ground and plunged into a small area in front of her. Curiously, every drop was sucked into the small space as if a large vacuum cleaner was turned on.

'This is...' she thought. 'Ougi...'

By this time the shadow guardian paused and looked over to Kagome. If it had a true face, it certainly would have had saucer-round eyes.

"Jutsu no Ougi!" Kagome yelled. "Tsunami Blast!"

A lake's worth of water spiraled like a bullet towards its target. Taking advantage of his enemy's distraction, he struggled out of its grip and hurled himself away just in time as the globe made contact...

The ball of water left nothing but rubble in its wake as it plowed through like a bullet through butter and continued past its defeated target, obliterating three more guardians before finally splashing into the wall. Some left over water carried on to make Inuyasha sopping wet.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome rushed over to the water clogged dog demon and turned him over.

"Inuyasha! Wake up! Onegai"

His eyes fluttered open. Kagome thought she saw slight confusion and relief in his eyes until they changed to...

"Oi!! What the hell do you think you're trying to do you witch?! Drown me?!"

Kagome stared in shock for a few seconds, and replied with, "Hey! I was just trying to save your hide!"

"Keh! I don't want your help!"

"But you need it!"

"Keh!"

#Sploosh#

"Hey! Stop that!" yelled Inuyasha after giving Kagome a dirty look.

"Then stop being a jerk!"

'Glad to see they're back to normal...' thought everyone else.

* * *

And that's that! Next chapter will be about the 2 other guardians plus Naraku. R&R! 


	26. Breaking of the Cycle

Disclaimers: I do NOT own Inuyasha or any of its characters.

Good lordy… I just _feel _the angry mob bearing down on me with sticks.

Either that, or my readers have simply abandoned this forsaken story.

But here's how my 2 months went:

Mid November through mid December: 3 week long exams.

Mid Dec. through beginning of January: 2 week long break, tried to finish up chapter 26, but procrastinated (hey, I just finished a 3 week long exam period, give me a break…no pun intended)

Early Jan. through early Feb: either busy or I was on a 4 day long trip to New Orleans (beware of drunken old men/women who ask you how old you are! Beware!) or an equally long trip to Savannah (where an ice storm kept me there an extra day- it was heaven on earth baby).

And here I stand now, procrastinating warts and all.

But now for the reviewers:

Fire Princess: No need to panic! An update is here!

Wandering Namekian: Those darn summatives…wonder if they'll be here next year?

Hayai-Hakai: No problem. Work is ever in abundance now days…

YuniX: Actaully, I was incorrect. It is CENTRIFUGAL force, not centripetal or centripical force.

And please, no Jakens in ANYTHING pink. I believe you might have shattered our minds completely with that image.

Stephanie: Hurrying!

Inucrazy: Sorry again for the long wait, but I think you guys will like this chapter. :D

Shakujou: Thanks! If my net was a bit more stable I'd be hanging around at Yakusoku a lot more…

Fred the Mutant Pickle: Long time no see Fred!

Good one liners, eh? I never considered myself a comedian, but oh well. Thanks!

And on with the story!

"" - Speech

'' - Thoughts

-Asterisks

* * *

"Hydro Blast!" 

The globe of water plowed through the Shadow guardian like a fist through a thin board of wood. It continued on to obliterate three other guardians behind him and pounded a great, gaping hole in the door.

"Yatta, Kagome!"

"Go, Kagome-chan!"

Shippo turned his attention back to his gargantuan opponent. It kept at him as though completely unfazed by the destruction of its comrade.

Its victims, on the other hand, were more than just a bit fazed by the huge stone giant stomping towards them.

"Uwaawawaaaa! Heeeelp!" Shippo's shrieking snapped Miroshin to attention.

"Shippo-chan! Hold on! Wind Spear!" Familiar lances of air shrieked towards their targets; however, the airy projectiles failed to penetrate the Life guardian's barrier.

And the vines kept on coming.

"Ji-ji, hurry it up! I don't like creepy crawly things! I'm too young to die!" Shippo wailed.

Grumble "Whiny little runt...Alright, just keep on running-Doof!" Iron-hard roots sprang forward and wrapped themselves around the monk, binding him fast. He squirmed until another root brutally concussed him to submission.

Realizing that no help would come from his friends (who were still occupied with their guardian or too winded to do anything), Shippo took a nervous gulp to swallow a soaring butterfly that threatened to spew out of his mouth and faced his enemy. (1)

"_I am life, I am death."_ rumbled the guardian who towered over the cowering kit._ "Mortals fear me above all else. Surrender to me, the ender of life."_

"Death i-isn't that sc-cary!" squealed back Shippo. "W-we've all s-s-suffered things w-worse than it!"

"_Pray tell, what might that be?"_

"L-like feeling as if you'd lost someone you loved!" he replied somewhat lamely.

"_Incorrect, puny one. Nothing is worse a fate than death. Allow me to relieve you of your naïve mindset."_ Vines burst from the ground as if the beasts beneath the earth let forth their wrath.

"Iie! Kitsune Bi!" Blue flames licked at the vines; each caress took apart layers and layers of incoming brambles.

And the vines kept on coming.

"_Submit to the oblivion, kit! Flesh began with destruction, and will end in such!"_

"Never! KITSUNE BI!" Once more the anger-fueled fires charred away at the organic offenders.

And the vines kept on coming.

"_Mortality is pitiful."_ A hideous, rotting creature burst forth from the ground and latched onto Shippo. While the kit struggled, more fiends clawed at him from the earth.

"_Flesh, like these mindless creatures, will eventually crumble away into the sands of time. But I am the circle of life, and I am eternal."_ At this point, Shippo began crying out in pain as skeletal claws dug into his skin.

"_For where there is death, there is life. And death will come to all things. Such as you, little fool."_ Sickly green light began gathering in one of the guardian's arms.

Shippo saw the arm readying itself for the death blow as he struggled to release himself from his bony cage…

A waft of warm air flowed into his nose…

'A scent of grass and forests?' thought Shippo. 'But from where?'

_Shippo, my son…_

'Chi-chiue…'

The green light ran down the length of the arm.

_The pattern of life and death is a circle…_

'I miss you…'

The arm finished charging and began raising itself.

_And to break the unending circle…_

'Daddy…'

It got up halfway…

_You grasp the two tips…_

'I'll make you proud…'

It was raised full…

_And unbalance them…_

'Chi-chiue…'

"Chi-chiue…" Shippo voiced. He felt no fear, only peace and serenity. "Arigatou."

"_And this is where you say farewell, fleshling."_ The arm came back down-

"Shippoooo! Thunder Crash!" A clap of energy blew the green ectoplasm apart.

"I-Inuyasha!" Eyes wide, Shippo's head snapped up in surprise.

A slightly worn but still vigorous Inuyasha skidded to a halt in front of Shippo.

"Oi, rock face, next time you wanna hurt my buddies, you're gonna have to get through my dead body first."

"_And I shall gladly arrange that, halfling._" The guardian positioned itself to attack.

"Bring it! GaaaaaaaAAAH!" Inuyasha let loose a primal warcry as flames devoured Tessaiga.

"Hi no Kizu! GO!" The earth melted under the intense flames that soared towards the Life guardian.

"_Wall of Thorns,"_ rumbled the sentry as it clapped its huge hands together. A large hedge of brambles clawed its way up out of the ground and intercepted the flames, which burned them to ashes in an instant. The flames continued past unhindered.

"Gotcha!" cried Inuyasha. He let down his guard and lowered Tessaiga.

He immediately was then blown forward by a green cloud of ectoplasm and landed hard on the floor, wincing.

All of this passed in a matter of a dozen seconds.

"I-Inuyasha! Daijoubu!" Shippo ran up to his friend and shook him. "Answer me! Inuyasha!"

"_He will be lucky to get up after such a blow,"_ spoke the Life guardian.

"Kisamaaa…" Shippo's round eyes frowned in anger and moistened with tears of rage.

Inuyasha groaned underneath him.

"_But before I send him to his miserable death,"_ continued the guardian, _"You shall be the first to go to the after life. This time, you shall perish." _A blade made of iron-hard wood formed itself around the guardian's arm.

"_May your death continue the cycle."_ The blade went -Swoosh- as it cut through the air.

Shippo didn't even think. He grasped the closest object he could feel and swung it up. 'I hope this works!' he shouted in his mind.

The Clang of two swords clashing shattered the air.

When Shippo opened his eyes, he saw the wooden blade of the guardian resting upon the sharp blade of Tessaiga. Shippo hardly felt the sword's anti-demon barrier, though it crackled and raged against his tiny hands.

Had the situation not been so razor edged, the sight of a two-foot tall fox kit using a seven-foot long sword would have been hilarious.

'Tessaiga? Nani…' Shippo had no time to think further as the wooden sword plunged itself towards him.

Scrape! Sword met sword and Shippo leaped backwards, away from his adversary.

'The Tessaiga is so light…I can hardly feel its demon ward…Come on, Steel Fang, help me protect your master!' The Tessaiga thrummed in response and stopped resisting its current wielder.

"Yatta! Let's go Tessaiga! YaaaAAAAA!" He charged forward, his blade at his side in a quick draw position.

"_That blunt sword will lead you to your ruin, like its former wielder. Let everything go, and submit-"_

"I've sick of your stupid babbling! Eat this!" He swung Tessaiga around and aimed for the legs.

"_Little fool!"_ The stone figure, utilizing agility belied by its great size, somersaulted above the strike.

"Fooled you! Ha!" He swung the sword diagonally and cut into the guardian's left leg. Gravel flew all over the battleground.

The guardian fell awkwardly on its two-and-a-half legs.

Giving his opponent to time to recover, Shippo dashed forward slashed at the guardian's face. This time however, the guardian blocked his attack and threw more vines at him.

Once again, the sea of vines raced toward the kitsune. He raised his hand up to blow it away with foxfire…

_Shippo, my son…_

_Grasp the two ends of life and death…_

"And unbalance them…" he finished. "That's it!" He dashed away and allowed the vines to come towards him like a pack of hungry wolves.

"Come on, keep coming…" More and more vines grew out and chased him.

"Come to daddy…" The ground was carpeted by squirming vines.

"Now!" He dashed across the vines, to where the guardian was. He could see the minute cracks across its normally smooth skin.

"For chi-chiue! DaaaaaaAAAAAH!" SLASH

The guardian's head teetered for a moment before it fell into two pieces. Yet the guardian could still talk.

"_Not…p-possible…how!" _it stuttered out.

"Simple, really," spoke Shippo, sounding very much like a college professor. "Life is balanced by death, and vice versa. I tricked you into creating a large number of living things in this room. That put a big strain on your elemental powers, since your Life powers have to be balanced by destruction and death. And since there was so much Life in this room, your body was more than willing to be destroyed to preserve a balance."

Shippo walked over to Inuyasha's lifeless body and spoke again. "Death isn't eternal. Balance is." He sheathed Tessaiga into its scabbard.

"_No…death cannot…be…overcome…ever…" _ The voice faded into the dust that contained the remnants of the defeated guardian. A slight breeze that came from seemingly nowhere scattered the dust into oblivion.

"I must say… that was incredible swordplay you just demonstrated, young Shippo."

"M-Miroshin? Miroshin!" Shippo's voice rang with relief. "Daijoubu?"

"Hai, hai. I'm no worse for wear, though my head feels like my wife took stick to it after a trip to the geisha house…"

Shippo wisely chose to ignore the last part of that comment. He instead asked, "Is Inuyasa gonna be okay?"

Miroshin checked Inuyasha's pulse, then slapped him a few times. Inuyasha's fist subsequently introduced the monk to a pillar face first.

"Huh? Ow, I feel like I just got run over by a bull demon…"

"Inuyasha!" Shippo leaped onto his chest and buried his face in it.

"Oi runt…what happened?"

"Inuyasha, I used Tessaiga!"

"You what!"

"I used Tessaiga!" exclaimed Shippo excitedly. "I picked it up, asked it to help me, and it did! I kicked the guardian's butt too!"

"…"

"Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha thought he'd die laughing.

Shippo indignantly began protesting. "No, for real! I really did pick up and use Tessaiga! Inuyasha! Stop laughing! Inuyasha!"

* * *

(1) For those who haven't figured it out by now, the butterfly is a metaphor for Shippo's lunch that was on the verge of spewing. 

Super Shippo! W00t!

Next Chapter: Miroku and Sango's Battle!


	27. Electromagnetics

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Inuyasha or any of its characters.

Whew! Sorry for the long update period folks, but my PC finally went to meet its maker. And so I purchased a nice Macintosh. :D

For the more observant readers, you will notice that the characters rarely, if at all, mutter incantations when casting spells- this is due partly to my own laziness but also because as the characters spend more time on that plane, they attune to elemental energies faster, thereby nullifying the need to channel energy through words.

To the Reviewers:

Anja-chan: Yes! More minio- err, fans!

And about Miroku's granddad- I started writing this before I got to see the second movie, so I had to make his name up. It's too late to change it now though...sorry...

K-chan9: Now now, being bitter is not healthy...

Demonslayingmonk: So are you!

Fred the Mutant Pickle: And you will know quite soon. Read on!

Wandering Namekian: Word to DBZ creators: delete Chaozu from the series. Now. Erase all traces that he even did anything. You will regret it if you don't.

As you can see, I despise that little Kangshi look alike.

Shakujou: Hey again! Thanks for that e-mail by the way: I think I can learn to be a little less tactless in front of women now. :D -Pokes back with stick-

Inucrazy: Indeed. Must I remind everyone of the killer rabbit from the Holy Grail?

YuniX-2: Word to the Wise: Forget about Emily Dickinson's poems- don't mess with death lest he forces Jaken to dance in front of you naked...except for a tutu around his head.

"": Speech

'': Thoughts

#: Asterisks

* * *

Shippo continued to wail at Inuyasha, demanding that the latter believe the former's claim that Shippo did indeed use Tessaiga. 

"I'm serious! Will you just shut up and listen to me! Argh!" He gave up on diplomacy and proceeded to use brute force to persuade Inuyasha (which failed spectacularly).

Inuyasha shot Shippo an annoyed glance. "Get off, pest." -Zap- A rather large bolt of static electricity Shippo in more ways than one. The now extremely pouffy Shippo leaped off and began yelling some more about not zapping things just because Inuyasha could.

However, Miroku and Sango had no time to ponder upon the morality of static electricity, as a large Guardian preoccupied them from such thoughts.

Sango tripped over her now-weighty boomerang as a quick succession of light blasts disintegrated the ground she stood on only moments ago. She still could not remember how to use her Hiraikotsu.

'What's with me? How can I not remember how to use a weapon I'd been fighting with since the age of seven!' She desperately thought up of other methods to destroy her opponent. The fact that Kirara had previously been injured did not help matters.

Miroku was having his own problems- though Wind was swift, Light was even swifter. Every attack he made was easily countered by blasts of searing light, and the constant dodging on his part was taking a toll on his body. He would need Sango's heavier, more solid Earth powers soon.

"Sango!" he yelled. "Any luck yet?"

"Iie!"

"Keep trying then!"

"I am! Eeek!" She ducked back behind her boomerang. Onyx chunks flew by her in a hailstorm, superheated by a beam of light. An extra large piece of debris flew into her boomerang and knocked her over, leaving her helpless. The guardian loomed menacingly over her.

"Sango!"

"Get away from her! Ice Spear!" The giant momentarily paused, allowing Miroku to blur by and snatch her away. He landed a good ways away from the mayhem, both boomerang and breathless girl in tow.

"Daijoubu?"

"Hai, arigatou- Look out!" Miroku was forced to unceremoniously dump Sango in a heap onto the ground to avoid getting his head Stimulated Emission Radiationed by the guardian's Amplified Light. -1-

"Oof!"

"Eh heh, gomen..." He looked up to see Kagome being forced backwards, her bow still rhythmically spitting out arrows infused with ice. Due to her complete concentration on her enemy, she failed to notice she would back up into a corner.

"Kagome-sama! Blade Twister!" A tornado, brimming at its edges with blades, spun its way towards the guardian. The funnel almost made contact...

#Flash#- In a blast of light, the giant teleported away from its doom, leaving Kagome in the tornado's path.

"Kuso! What the HELL do you think you're doing, bouzo!" Inuyasha sped into the fray and fled with Kagome in his arms. "Quit trying to kill us and kill IT!"

"Right!" He turned his attention again towards the Light guardian...

Who was suddenly right up in his face.

"This can't be good..." -WHAP- A direct backhand to the face sent him flying into a pillar.

"Gah!"

"M-Miroku sama!"

He settled to the base of the stone pillar, his cranium leaning forward and blood beginning to drip slowly down his head and face.

"Kisama! GaaaaaAAAH! Flame Fist!" He aimed a right hook at the guardian's face, but was quite shocked when he found that his fist was grasped in the large paw of his opponent.

"Oh shi-" After a blinding flash of light, he went sailing into the ground, bounced off of it, and skidded to a halt a good twenty meters away. More shouts of concern rang out.

Finished with eradicating two of the several pests, the guardian turned towards Kagome, raised a glowing arm, then fired a beam of blinding light. It collided with Kagome's hastily summoned ice wall...

And then it refracted into several dozen, multi-colored beams that sought to skewer anything in their paths. Fortunately, Kagome managed to dodge a beam in time, whereas Miroku, Miroshin, and Inuyasha were too close to the ground to be struck (and Shippo simply too short).

But Sango...

"Sango-chan! Sango-chan!" Kagome cried to her friend who lay still on the floor. The light had gone straight through her bone barrier. Kagome dashed over to Sango's side and began shaking her. "Sango-chan! Wake up! Onegai!" She gasped as the guardian stomped towards her without its usual swift, darting movements.

"Get back!" Kagome shouted, notching an arrow to her bow. She fired several times, but arrows did little more other than waste her spiritual energy. It was not long until her exhausted arms refused to pull back another arrow. Kagome tried to gather her energy into another form of defense, but she saw the Light guardian raising its arms once more...

'I...I won't be able to make it in time...' she thought in despair. She knew her opponent would charge up energy much sooner than she ever could at her current state.

'Is this...the end?'

_"So ends your pitiful existence, human,"_ rumbled the giant. "_You will be terminated." _

It fired straight towards Kagome, who screeched and buried her head in her arms.

'Mama...Souta...Grandpa...everyone...'

'I-Inuyasha...'

"Stone Barrier!"

_"What?"_

CRASH- The superheated rock made an earsplitting noise as it blew apart.

_"That should not have been possible, human. your memories were surely locked away within me."_

Sango slowly stood up, staring in wonder at her hands. 'How?' she thought. 'How did I remember everything?'

'That beam of light...'

She had no more time to thing as the stone golem stomped right through the remains of her wall.

"Daijoubu, Kagome-chan?"

"Hai...what happened?"

"I don't know...get back and check on the others, I'll handle this freak." Sango held her boomerang in its proper position as Kagome scampered off towards everyone else.

_"You will learn that the human heart is too impure to endure Light."_

She only glared back.

For a moment, everything was stock still, the only noise being Kagome's worried tones sounding here and there. The two opponents only glared at each other, each tense as a drawn bow string.

Silence, only silence.

Th at silence was cut to pieces by a diamond-edged boomerang. "Hiraikotsu! Diamond Edge!" She hurled her weapon, which spun and flew straight towards her enemy. It darted to its left and charged, extending a five-foot beam of light from its right arm. Sango charged as well.

_"You may taste your death, mortal."_ It made a vicious slash at Sango's head, who rolled under both the blade and between the guardian's legs. She dodged a few more slashes, then planted her foot on one of the guardian's lowered arms. She somersaulted up and above her opponent and landed perfectly behind it.

By now, Hiraikotsu was spinning back towards its original throwing point, while its owner was standing directly in the path of its return flight. Sidestepping to her right, Sango expertly grasped the spinning projectile by its straps and spun around, adding her centrifugal force into her blow. The guardian, however, clamped its hands over the boomerang and spun it, so that Sango was sent twirling into the ground. She looked up and dodged just in time to avoid being split in half by her own weapon.

"Earthshaker!" She planted her palm flat against the stone floor and began a tremor, just enough to cause minimal damage to the surrounding stone, but enough make the guardian teeter off balance. Sango sprang up and leaped forward, in which she delivered a-

"Onyx Fist!" A stone fist, roughly the shape of beach ball, burst forth from the ground and bashed into the golem's face, sending its upper torso reeling backwards. She retrieved her weapon, and jumped backwards, while the guardian sliced apart the offending rock fist.

Stalemate.

_"Let us step this up a bit, shall we?"_ He blurred into motion and reappeared behind her.

"Predictable." She swung her boomerang sucker-punch style...

Into an enemy who was no longer there.

"Nani-" She saw the Photon blade coming at her face just in time to raise her boomerang, which had a shiny new hole right through it after the blade retracted.

'This can't be good...' she thought as she kept dodging more and more blows.

Eventually, she decided that Hiraikotsu wouldn't quite cut it, so she tossed aside and drew her own katana, coating in a thin layer super-dense granite. She got into a fighting position...

She let out a war cry and dashed towards her opponent, who simply phased into existence another Photon blade and teleported directly above her. In response, Sango drove her blade into the ground, allowing a spurt of lava to geyser forth from the ground. The guardian blurred off into another direction to avoid becoming intimate with molten, super-hot rocks.

Sango kept on the pressure with more slashes, lava spurts, and the occasional stone projectile. However, her attacks were still futile.

'This is going nowhere,' she thought. She was starting to feel the affects of fatigue on her tiring muscles. Her lack of concentration awarded her with a swift kick to her face, which sent her spinning a few feet.

"Sango!" Why is everyone shouting her name out today? she wondered.

_"So...the monk joins the fray..._"

Miroku, looking rather bruised and bloody, but still determined, floated towards Sango and stood in front of her protectively before her opponent could do anything else to her.

_"Two birds with one stone, as they say,"_ it rumbled._ "Come, taste death._"

"You first." Sango sprinted to the right, while Miroku headed towards the left.

The golem solved its pincer dilemma by creating two walls running at an angle towards each other, effectively trapping Sango and Miroku in a large funnel. The walls hummed with energy menacingly, sparking every so often.

"Look out!" cried Miroku. He grabbed hold of Sango and flew upwards, watching as the light beam bounced around the funnel like a pinball, smashing and disintegrating a stone wall soon afterwards.

'This isn't getting anywhere,' Sango worried. 'I have to finish the job quick...' "Miroku! Hold him off, I have an idea!" The monk nodded in compliance, dropped Sango off on the ground, and sped away.

'Right...let's get started.' Sango's eyes turned into a stony, gray color and she began meditating.

Meanwhile, Miroku did his part and engaged his opponent in a fierce battle. Staff and Photon blades flew at speeds that there was a maelstrom energy thrumming from their battle site. One would slash, block, and deflect at speeds that no human could ever dream of achieving in his lifetime.

'Almost there,' thought Sango.

A sudden feint and counterattack by the golem threw Miroku completely off guard and knocked him to the ground, leaving him helpless. Two blades locked into his staff prevented him from getting up.

_"Good effort, human. Pity it was wasted._" the guardian of Light opened its mouth to vaporize Miroku

"Nice speech," replied Miroku mischieviously. "Pity _that_ was wasted."

Miroku quickly expelled a cloud of corrosive gas from his mouth, which forced the guardian to let go of him to get rid of the acidic poison. When the smoke cleared, the golem's head appeared to be scarred and slightly distorted.

Miroku glanced back at Sango and grinned. "And now for the grand finale."

He leapt away to safety.

"Earth Dragon's Rage!"

The earth trembled, perhaps shaking in fear at the coming destruction. The onyx floors beneath the guardian began to splinter and crack, and then began to churn like an angry ocean.

Inuyasha, Miroshin and Shippo, who were being rejuvenated by an exhausted Kagome, looked up from their reclining positions as Earth destruction began its slow, but unstoppable, roll towards its pinnacle.

They watched as spikes of black rock, harder than steel, spear their way out of the floor and catch the guardian in its legs. They watched as the spikes grew higher and higher, until they began to look like far-off mountains. They watched as the spikes suddenly became porous. They watched as lava spewed out like water out of the holes and began to form a spinning maelstrom of molten rock. spinning into a huge funnel that kept rising up. They watched as the guardian of Light slowly melted and became part of the lava flow itself. They watched as the lava seeped back into the spikes, along with the remains of the guardian. They watched as the spikes sank back into the floor and seal back up as if nothing had ever happened.

The only echoes of the chaotic destruction that had occurred was the intense heat left behind by the lava.

Only one word could describe the scene that had passed before them:

"Sugoi..."

Miroku and Sango rested their weary bodies while Kagome began her rejuvenation process, replenishing bodily fluids and easing sore muscles. When Kagome finished, the rest of the group geared up to continue through the giant doorway. The pedestals adorning the ground near the door lay silent, statues no longer decorating the great platforms.

Silence had returned to the innards of the dome.

The group came to the doorway and gazed upwards at its black, ominous frame. What lay ahead was known for sure- their hated enemy, Naraku. But what else lay beyond?

Inuyasha took the initiative by planting a hand on one of the doors. "Come on, Narku ain't gonna wait for us all day. Let's go!"

And so the group prepared to step into the unknown, their greatest enemy lying in front of them.

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"#Strain# Uh, minna? The door's stuck."

"#Groan#"


	28. Core of Reality

Well, a combination of exams, another story, and sheer laziness seems to have delayed me... oh well...

This fiction should have 2 chapters left, including this one, and perhaps an appendix.

K-chan9: No problem. And good luck at GHP!

Kodocha08: Thanks, and keep reading!

Vegima: Indeed, Miroku's grandfather was killed by Naraku in chapter 21.

Perhaps I should have emphasized it a bit more... #cringes#

Shakujou: Really now? I keep forgetting to drop by there from time to time lately...

Expo Pride Bches: Yes, I would agree- this website needs a few more original plotlines and settings... anymore "pirate" or "high school situation where Kagome is super-perfect" stories and I just might start ripping out my hair... :P

Inucrazy: Thanks!

Sangonesan: Updating!

Fred the Mutant Pickle: This is extremely belated, but...

Happy Birthday Fred! #Streamers fly all over the place#

Cookies-will-invade: Oh yes, that killer rabbit...

The Monty Python folk are geniuses.

SangoSlayer23: Thanks very much! And my fluff isn't that great.../

Now, on to the story!

"" Speech

'' Thoughts

-- Asterisks

* * *

After much prying and straining with various weapons and appendages, the great door was finally forced open with a staccato creak. 

It was a good 3 feet thick, and like the rest of the hall it was obsidian black with intricate patterns weaved into the stone with either a chisel or a divine hand.

But beyond the great hall was another facility, slightly smaller than the first. Six different color lights shined on the walls and the door, illuminating it with an aura of old and great power.

The Core Chamber, the very heart of the current reality.

Each sphere was roughly thirty feet in diameter and suspended ten feet off of the floor by a beam of light. The light's color corresponded to that of the sphere that it contained. The spheres themselves were like large gems, with thousands upon thousands of facets gleaming like stars, perpetually twinkling and winking. They were arranged in a circular pattern around what appeared to be a pillar of black energy, roaring up into a sightless void somewhere up in the ceiling.

The group cautiously crept forward, staring in awe at the great spheres of energy that powered the very rock they were standing on, the very air they breathed.

"So this is the Core..." mused Miroku.

"Indeed it is, young monk," spoke a smooth voice from the black pillar.

Naraku was levitating with his arms stretched out, while beams of light from six spheres were leeching energy into the black pillar. Every second, the only sphere not being siphoned glowed a darker and darker purple.

The evil coagulation said, "So, you have managed to defeat the guardians and finally catch up me...I must say, Inuyasha, I am quite impressed how you and your worthless friends managed to wield their equally useless powers so...effectively."

Inuyasha merely growled and whipped out Tessaiga. The blade transformed as usual into its six-foot long form, the collage of lights shimmering off of its blade.

"But it is too late," continued Naraku. "I have already converted most of the energies of this world into that of darkness." He nodded pointedly towards the Shadow sphere, which was at least twice the size that of the other six globes.

The dark orb hummed with energy, a sinister aura about it.

"Within a few more hours, I will have drained enough power from the six other spheres to render your own powers helpless," Naraku mocked. "Not that they were that powerful in the first place..."

"What should we do?" whispered Kagome. She could not figure out what t do at this point.

Inuyasha's answer was brief and to the point: "Hi no Kizu!"

#FWOOOSH#

A flash of roaring flame splashed against Naraku and enveloped the hanyou in fire and smoke.

"He he he...not so tough are you now, eh punk?" gloated Inuyasha. He rested Tessaiga on his shoulder and let his guard down. "Nothing to it-"

He never got to finish the sentence as Naraku burst out of the smoke and summoned a large fist made of dark stone, which smashed into Inuyasha and sent him hurtling backwards.

"N-Nani?" coughed out Inuyasha. 'Too fast...'

"Always the first to attack...that could get you killed one day, Inuyasha." Naraku chuckled darkly. "Now be a good puppy and die." He raised an arm charged with flame, the sparks and embers dancing fitfully as if desiring to burn away the dog demon into cinders.

"Leave him alone! Ice Arrow!" shouted Kagome. #Twing#

Naraku casually looked behind and raised a hand. "Oh, it's you, the miko. I should kill you next." The Ice Arrow stopped in mid air, turned around, and then sped towards its shooter.

"Eek!" Kagome dived to the floor as her own arrow exploded above her. She winced when the ice shards, sharp as glass, made razor cuts and nicks on her ivory skin.

"Kagome!"

"Kagome-chan!"

"Nnngh! I'm okay, everyone!" she shouted. She watched as Sango and Miroku tried to attack Naraku from the front and rear while Shippo and Miroshin attempted to flank him.

"Fools," mutterd the half-demon. A clench of a fist sent out a shock wave of ice in a ring of cold destruction, sending Shippo and Sango flying backwards. Father and son, however, blocked and pressed their attack.

"Wind Spear!"

"Twisting Whirlwind!"

#Whooooosh# A small tornado fortified by a wind spear rushed towards Naraku, carving up the ground which it tread on.

"Not enough." The demon simply teleported through the coming destruction and enveloped both monks in a dark embrace where they slowly choked to death.

"Ahou. Do you not realize that I am Darkness? And that the worlds were created from the shadows, and as such will end in it?" The monks gave no reply as they squirmed and struggled in the dark grip.

"M-Miroku! Miroshin! Flame Bre-gaah!" Naraku threw his two captives into the charging dog-demon, sending them tumbling head over heels.

The entire party lay strewn about like a bunch of rag dolls, all of them worn out after only a few moments of fighting.

Inuyasha managed to get himself up using Tessaiga as a crutch and glared murderously at his opponent. 'Kuso, how is he that strong? He can do anything we do, but better!' He would not admit it, but he could feel the fingers of despair beginning to creep into his heart and mind. Inuyasha tried to think of a way out of this, but he try as he might, he could not.

'This...this is really bad...' He glanced to his right and saw Kagome nursing a gash on her right arm and panicked. If she could no longer draw her bow, she would be utterly defenseless.

"So..." spoke Naraku. "This is the pitiful group that challenged me back on Japan? And to think that I was almost destroyed by you!" He let out a vine tentacle and whipped Kagome in the face, sending her flying backwards. The same appendages lifted her up by the hands and held her aloft, almost like a crucifix.

"And this little miko was the one who caused all of my problems," continued Naraku, his voice hinting anger. A fist of stone flew into Kagome's stomach and forced air out through her lungs. She wheezed and tried to curl up, but more vines secured her legs so that she could not. Naraku raised his hand to unleash another stone punch-

"Yamero, Naraku!" screamed Inuyasha. The youkai conglomeration merely smirked and punched Kagome again, this time across the face so that some blood sprayed on the ground.

'I...I have to stop him...' thought dazedly. He shook his head and wondered why his mind was feeling so fuzzy.

Naraku literally blew away Shippo when he tried to attack him, and concussed Kirara and Sango with a trunk of wood that seemed to have come from nowhere.

'Am I transforming?' Inuyasha could not discern why he would transform at this time, especially when he had Tessaiga with him.

'I'm seeing red...'

#Whap# Miroku flew across the room with a broken jaw.

'All I can feel is anger...'

#Smash# Hiraikotsu flew in a million pieces all over the battlefield.

'But...this isn't transforming...' He suddenly noticed that he was inches away from the weakening sphere of Fire.

'Nani? What's going on-'

#Whoosh#

Inuyasha opened is eyes and saw a huge, flat, volcanic wasteland surrounding him as far as the eye could see. Here and there small eruptions took place, spewing a red substance into the air- after a quick sniff, Inuyasha determined that it was blood.

Suddenly, a deep, baritone voice boomed, "We welcome you, hanyou, to the Spirit Realm of Fire."

Inuyasha gasped and turned around- before him stood several ethereal beings made completely of fire. A blue one to the left continued, "We, along with the other Spirits, have watched you and your comrades fight this abomination who would drain us of our power and upset the delicate balance of the Spheres." They _were_ looking slightly worn, noticed Inuyasha.

"However, we realize that at your current state, you will surely lose to this monstrosity, this Naraku." As one, all of the Spirits raised their arms, and a white fire bathed Inuyasha in light and power. "Therefore, we will assist you by granting you the power of the Inferno- may your inner fire burn eternally..." Inuyasha saw a flare of bright light, and felt something coursing through it; something warm, something flickering yet strong...

Fire.

Inuyasha clenched his fist and let himself feel the new elemental power flowing through him. After a moment, he looked up and around and asked, "So what exactly is this place?"

A blue flame answered, "This is one of the seven Spirit Realms, each connected to the world you were on by the seven spheres. The Spirit Realm is the origin of the elemental powers that fuel Amalgam and keep it whole throughout the ages."

"Amalgam?" asked Inuyasha, perplexed. After a moment of thinking, he answered his own question. "Oh, the world I was just in..."

"There are other Spirit Realms that await your friends," continued a red flame on the right. "Be sure to tell them to touch their corresponding sphere to gain this new power. We must warn you that you will taste death should your compatriots refuse to touch the spheres..."

And in a flash of blinding light Inuyasha felt himself go back to...

#Back in the Core#

Inuyasha gasped as his mind flew back into his body, which he felt much warmer than usual. He looked and saw pieces of Hiraikotsu still flying through the air (and a distressed and injured Sango as well). 'Huh...not a lot of time passed while I was gone, eh?' thought Inuyasha. He gripped Tessaiga once more, feeling the power coursing through him.

"Let's dance."

#Fwoosh# In a flash of fire Inuyasha sped towards Naraku, surprising both himself and his enemy with his blurring speed. Swords met and sparks flew as Naraku instantaneously summoned a stone blade of his own and parried.

"Kisama...where did you get this power?" demanded Naraku.

"Screw you!" taunted Inuyasha. His eyes flared up and blasted Naraku with beams of heat from his optics, causing the surprised monster to stumble backwards. Inuyasha summoned a flaming version of Tessaiga and pressed the attack.

He dodged a horizontal blow and spun while crouching, both blades singing for Naraku's midsection. When both blades were blocked, Inuyasha spun again, this time towards his left, using his left blade to keep Naraku's sword at bay and his right to take his opponent's head off. Naraku ducked under the blow and slashed upwards, which Inuyasha sidestepped and began twirling both blades in a flurry of destruction that Naraku struggled to parry against. Inuyasha stabbed once more and Naraku leaned sideways to avoid it, who then followed it up with a backwards leap to give himself some breathing room.

"Had enough already Naraku?" taunted Inuyasha again.

Naraku responded, "Not quite. Rather, this is where it begins to get interesting."

Naraku let out a shout and clenched his entire body, causing sparks of black lightning to dance over his skin. All present could _feel_ the energy and dark power emanating from the coagulation of demons.

"You're right Naraku. This IS the part where it gets interesting." Inuyasha let out a fierce howl which drastically deepened and became more feral as fire sprung from every pore of his body and immolated him. His figure hunched over until his arms, now forepaws, touched the ground. His entire body began to grow, and stopped only when he reached the shoulder height of fifteen feet.

"Impressive, Inuyasha," hissed Naraku. Both combatants roared and flew into each other, slashing and biting and clawing until they were a blur of fire and shadow.

The rest looked upon the chaos and could only stare in wonder and awe.

"Oi! Everyone!" shouted Inuyasha from the two-way brawl. "Touch the sphere that goes with your elemental power! Hayaku!"

They all gave a quick nod and followed Inuyasha's orders.

"Do you, rgh, do really think, Inuyasha," grit out Naraku, " that your friends can turn the tide of this battle?"

"Stuff it!" Inuyasha opened his mouth and barbequed Naraku's face. His enemy retaliated with a cloud of poison. Hacking and coughing, Inuyasha struggled to breath and began to loose the battle.

"Now Inuyasha, prepare to DIE- huh?" A hand clapped Naraku on the shoulder roughly.

"Let him go."

"What!"

Sango hurled Naraku bodily into the pillar and then into the floor. She then morphed her boomerang, which she had swiftly fixed with her powers earlier, into a ten-foot long piece of granite, which she used to hammer Naraku further into the ground. After a few beatings, the demon teleported to safety, where he was met with a six-foot long spear of ice that impaled him through the arm.

"You're finished Naraku!" shouted Kagome as she nocked another arrow onto her bow.

"Not quite yet-oof!" A gale, no, two gales, of wind blew Naraku off of his feet. A boulder, courtesy of Sango, pinned him down for good.

A silence...

Inuyasha gazed in wonder at his friends' newfound powers (and their current butt-kicking of Naraku) and grinned. Reverting back into hanyou form, he picked up Tessaiga, picked up another one, and charged back into the fray.

"Show time-" #Trip# "Oof!"

Making sure that no one just saw what happened, he scurried off to fight Naraku once more.

* * *

Almost finished with the story :D


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